Why birthday balloons do not appear on X and how to fix the issue

On your birthday, X displays balloons on your profile. Depending on your app or OS settings, you may not see them.

I explain why birthday balloons may not appear and how to fix the issue.

Common reasons birthday balloons do not appear on X

You may not see birthday balloons on your X profile for the following reasons:

• You have enabled Reduce motion in X
• You have enabled an OS setting that reduces animations
• You have not entered the correct birthday on X
• You have hidden your date of birth

The following sections explain how to address each issue.

You have enabled Reduce motion in X

X includes a Reduce motion setting that limits on-screen animations. When you enable it, X also hides the birthday balloon animation.

Turn off Reduce motion with these steps.

1. Open [Settings and privacy] in X

2. Open [Accessibility, display, and languages] > [Accessibility]

   

3. Turn off [Reduce motion]

   

You have enabled an OS setting that reduces animations

Your OS also includes settings that reduce animations. When you enable one of these settings, X prevents you from changing its Reduce motion setting.

Turn off the animation reduction setting on your device with the steps below.

Windows

1. Open Windows Settings

2. Open [Visual effects] under the [Accessibility] tab

   

3. Turn on [Animation effects]

   

4. Reload X, then turn off Reduce motion in X

Android

1. Open Android Settings

2. Open [Accessibility] > [Color and motion]

3. Turn off [Remove animations]

   

4. Reopen the X app, then turn off Reduce motion in X

iPhone

1. Open iOS Settings

2. Open [Accessibility] > [Motion]

3. Turn off [Reduce Motion]

4. Reopen the X app, then turn off [Reduce motion] in X

You have not entered the correct birthday on X

X displays birthday balloons on the date you enter in your account profile. If you entered an incorrect birthday when you created your account, X will not display the balloons on your actual birthday.

Check that your profile contains the correct birthday.

1. Open your profile in X

2. Click [Edit profile]

   

3. Check the date under [Birth date.] Update it if it is incorrect

   

You have hidden your date of birth

When you hide your date of birth, X does not display birthday balloons because the animation could reveal your birthday.

X hides birth dates by default for users who added them in or after January 2022, so those users will not see birthday balloons.

To display balloons on your birthday, you must make at least the [Month and day] field public.

You do not need to make your birth year public, so you can keep your age private.

1. Open your profile in X

2. Click [Edit profile]

   

3. Click [Birth date], then set at least [Month and day] under [Who sees this?] to [Public]

   

Conclusion

I covered the reasons birthday balloons may not appear on X and how to fix each issue.

Check that both X and your device allow animations. You should also confirm that you entered the correct date of birth and made it public.