How to delete Twitter in a post-Elon world.
Social media has been through many an incarnation through the years.
From once wildly-popular MySpace to failed experiments such as Google+ and Ello, there have been dozens of different takes on inventing spaces for people to (hopefully) flock to.
But Twitter (TWTR) – Get Twitter, Inc. Report has by far been one of the most successful. With 76.9 million users as of January 2022, the platform is still heavily used, despite a growing subsect of people who complain the site has gone to hell despite continuing to use it.
But they may find themselves feeling less lackadaisical about their stance now that Elon Musk officially owns Twitter. After several weeks of back and forth where Musk oscillated between being a passive partner and being on the board, the Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report founder finally decided to take the easiest route a billionaire can: If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em.
R.I.P. Twitter trended on Monday morning before the buyout was confirmed, signaling just how many people were upset by the news of Musk’s takeover. And now that it’s officially a done deal and Musk will now have full access to 16 years worth of user data from billions of users, some are not so sure they want to keep their accounts active.
How Do I Delete My Twitter Account?
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If you want to delete your Twitter account, it’s pretty easy to do. If you’re on a computer or using a browser on your phone, all you have to do is navigate your way to the main Twitter website.
From there, look at the column on the left of your feed. If you are on a desktop or laptop, you’ll see the last item is called “More.” You’ll want to click that. If you’re looking on mobile, you’ll need to tap your profile icon instead.
One of the options you will see after choosing “More” (or going to your profile via mobile) is “Settings and Privacy,” all the way down at the bottom. Click that, and then choose “Your Account.” There you will see your options to deactivate.
You will have the option of downloading all your data, which you’ll have to make a request to do. The site also says that your data can be restored after deactivation for a period of up to 12 months, meaning that even if you delete your Twitter, the company still has your data.
It’s also worth noting that your past Tweets won’t simply vanish off the internet. As Twitter says on its help page, only Protected Tweets are safe from internet caches and third-party search engines. You can send Google a request to remove outdated content if you so desire, but who knows how long that takes.
