If you are considering delete your Twitter account, you are in the right place. We are going to tell you how an account is deleted, what happens to all the content you have published and what other options you would have before reaching total destruction.
Tired of Twitter?
Maybe, like many other users, you are tired of Twitter. Either because of the tone or the atmosphere that has been breathed lately (quite toxic), because it takes too much time or the little contribution at a productive, informative level, etc. You may also have been very disappointed after everything that happened with the Elon Musk purchase. The CEO of Tesla (among other large companies) has finally made the acquisition of the social network effective, something that a large part of the users already did not like very much and that has now ended up completely scaring them away after knowing some of the measures that it will implement, such as payment for having a verified account (an option that will become part of Twitter Blue, with a monthly cost).
Too many open fronts for a platform that was born in 2006 with the simple objective of telling in 140 characters what you were doing or thinking at that moment and that today is a complete time bomb, no matter where you look at it.
It is therefore normal that you feel that it has arrived time to leave twitterHowever, we would also like to remind you that before you make a decision that is too radical and final (with which you will not be able to recover all the content published for years), you have intermediate options that can serve you while you think if you unsubscribe forever or not.
Let's say that these are the different steps to follow "from less to more" until you reach the complete elimination. You can stay in the one you think is most appropriate:
- Remove apps and access from browsers: This is an option that can help you forget about Twitter for a while. You do not lose anything, neither published messages nor multimedia files, followers, who you follow, lists, etc. It is simply a pause to assess whether you really just needed to disconnect for a while or not. Of course, although you may not care and do not care, other users will be able to continue mentioning you, RTing what you have published, etc.
- Delete content and remove access: Here we would combine the first option with that of deleting all the content that you have been able to share, from publications to multimedia images, the RTs and FAVs that you may have made, etc. The (quick) draft of everything you have published on Twitter can be done using services such as tweetdelete. This one is very easy to use: you log in with your Twitter account, grant permissions and tell it what you want to delete. Once your account is clean, by not logging in you have enough to forget the network for a while without losing your username, followers and who you follow.
- Deactivate your account: Finally, there is the most radical option, which not only involves deleting the content, but also your own user and with it all the information from people you follow and follow you.
As you can see, there are three different options that you will have to evaluate. If you doubt between the complete deletion or not, a good idea would be the second one, that of delete content and remove access for a season. If after a while you see that you don't miss anything, you can delete without fear. And if this is not the case, you can rethink how you are going to use the network and impose some "rules" on yourself (never answer controversial topics, do not follow accounts that talk about politics... etc.) to use the tool in a more mentally healthy way. talking.
In any case, if you are clear that keeping the account active is having the (permanent) temptation to see what is happening and access it again with all that that implies, then delete it permanently. To do this you must deactivate your account.
Disable or delete, what a mess is this?
The truth is that when you start this process of deleting your profile on the social network, the meaning of the words is very important. And so? Well, "erase" means to take something and delete it forever, leaving at most some kind of trace of the activity he had at the time (via download). However, "deactivate" is a different concept that reminds us that we have something in stand-by, on hold, with our sights set on a future recovery if we are interested in participating in the social conversation again.
Well, When you talk about deleting a Twitter account, the social network actually doesn't let you do it first, but it puts us in a kind of purgatory prior to death: first our profile will be deactivated and later, after the deadline imposed on us, it will be truly eliminated without a trace. It is clear?
So first deactivated and then deleted. For that order. And there can be no other. Behold.
How to deactivate your Twitter account
The process for deactivating the Twitter account is very simple. Whether it is from the applications for iOS and Android or from the web browser, the mechanics are the same. So here are the steps to follow for each of the options:
Deactivate Twitter account from the browser
- Click on the Settings and privacy, within the menu that is displayed in the icon below your profile.
- Under the Account option, click deactivate your account.
- Be sure to read the information that appears on the screen and tap on Disable @user.
- Enter your password and press the Deactivate account button again.
Deactivate Twitter account from iOS
- In the top menu of the app, click on your profile and tap on Settings and privacy.
- Now click on Account and Deactivate your account.
- Tap on Deactivate.
- Confirm by pressing Yes, disable.
Deactivate Twitter account from Android
- Access the navigation menu or the icon of your profile. Tap on the option Settings and privacy.
- Tap on Account and then on Deactivate your account.
- Click on Deactivate again.
- To finish, confirm in Yes, disable.
Done, when you do this you should know that Twitter will remove your display name and your name @user, also your public profile, which will no longer be accessible through the apps or twitter.com. There are also some additional aspects that you should know.
The first thing is that deactivation will not take effect until after 30 days. That is the time you will have to reactivate your account if for any reason you change your mind or it was something involuntary. The second is that the information that may have been indexed by search engines such as Google or Bing cannot be controlled, so it could continue to appear.
Finally, if your intention was to be able to use the username or email address on another account, stop. Only before deactivating it and completely removing it will be when you can modify your email and username in the other account. If you do not do so, directly neither you nor anyone else will be able to use that data in other service profiles.
What data does Twitter keep even if we deactivate the account?
The fact that we deactivate our profile does not mean that the information that we have been generating over the last few years leaves with us. On the contrary, from the social network itself they warn us that «deactivating your account does not delete the data of the Twitter systems”. So much so that you should always keep in mind that they will retain "certain information about your deactivated account to guarantee the security of the platform and Twitter users."
You can obtain more information by accessing the page official of the social network, where all those portions of data that can be kept on the servers of the company, "even though we have completely deactivated the activity of our profile, and under the applicable legislative framework within the European Union". In other words, it is almost better to forget the account, leave it as it is and avoid any activity so that no one, in the future, can supplant us or use our beloved nick.
Keep an archive with all the Tweets
If before deleting your Twitter account you want to keep a copy of everything you've posted on the social network, you can request a copy and download it locally. To do this do the following:
- Accede to Settings and privacy and go to the Account tab.
- Inside the section Content click on the button Your Twitter data under Data and permissions.
- Within Download your Twitter data Enter your password and click Confirm.
When the network processes your request you will receive an email with a link so you can download all the content. With it you can do what you think is appropriate, such as rescuing possible published threads, images, etc.
Delete the account of a deceased or incapacitated person
The worst possible cause when deleting a Twitter account is death, but it is also something that can be requested if your family or friends so wish. This is a process that is performed differently if, for whatever reason, you do not have access to the missing user's account.
In case of wanting delete the profile of a deceased user you will have to request it through this link. Once done, Twitter will contact you to request certain documentation such as a copy of the ID and the death certificate. This is essential to avoid false reports or unauthorized processes.
What must be clear is that this is an option to delete the account, not to gain access to it. This is not allowed by Twitter, so anything you want to do, like recovering some of the posted photos, etc., will have to be done before you start the deletion process.
Lastly, if for any medical or other reason you need delete a disabled user's account the process is similar to the previous one. Here, once the deletion is requested, you will have to provide other types of documentation. In this case, a copy of the DNI and a power of attorney that authorizes you to carry out such action. Again, these are administrative requirements necessary to prevent false reports or unauthorized intrusions.
How to transfer a Twitter account to another user
Finally, there may also be the possibility that you do not really want to delete your Twitter account but rather transfer it to another user for you to manage. This case can occur when, for example, your profile belongs to a brand or, simply, you published a type of content that no longer interests you, nor do you do it from said account. There may even be the situation that someone is interested or reaches you an offer for said username. In all these approaches, it is important to know how to pass it on to another person.
This process is very simple and basically consists of accessing the account and then, in the configuration settings, change the different personal data that may be associated to you. Finally, important step, you must modify the email and phone number used to log in. With these steps taken, you can access the account with the new data and that's it. As simple as that.