Once upon a time, Twitter — present X — was the spot to get your memes, satellite news, and popular culture. However, adjacent astatine the time, being an progressive Twitter idiosyncratic besides required sifting done a regular deluge of toxic characters, bots, and deepfakes. Then the Elon Musk circus came to municipality and began steadily altering the formerly fashionable societal network, to the constituent that galore of its adherents began bailing by moving to 1 oregon much of the caller societal networks, specified arsenic Threads, Bluesky, oregon Mastodon.
Now that the 2024 US statesmanlike predetermination is over, Musk looks similar he’s going to beryllium astatine slightest 1 of the powers down the throne. Add to that caller changes that have made X little harmless to use, and it’s nary astonishment that determination is present a caller question of X users looking to permission the platform. If you’re 1 of them, here’s immoderate proposal connected however to deactivate your account.
Step one: spell private
If you’re inactive progressive connected X oregon person a batch of friends and followers you privation to enactment successful interaction with, you whitethorn privation to marque definite they cognize wherever you’re going and why. One mode to bash that is to archetypal marque your relationship backstage truthful that lone your existent followers tin spot your account.
Screenshot: X Corp.
- Look successful the broadside paper connected the browser oregon pat your idiosyncratic icon successful the mobile app.
- In the browser, prime More > Settings and Privacy > Privacy and information > Audience, media and tagging > Protect your posts.
- In the mobile app, prime Settings & Support > Settings and Privacy > Privacy and information > Audience and tagging > Protect your posts.
- In the browser pop-up, prime Protect.
Now, lone the radical who travel you volition beryllium capable to spot your posts and different relationship information. You’ll spot a closed fastener icon adjacent to your sanction successful the bottom-left country of the screen.
What you enactment successful your “I’m leaving now” connection depends connected who your followers are. If you’ve been cautiously vetting your relationship and cognize beauteous overmuch everyone who is pursuing you, you tin fto them cognize wherever you’re going and what your caller code is successful lawsuit they privation to travel you.
If, connected the different hand, you’re a fashionable idiosyncratic and whitethorn person followers who aren’t wholly trustworthy, you tin either archer them wherever you’re going without immoderate details — or, to beryllium cautious, accidental goodbye.
How agelong should you permission your relationship backstage earlier you’re gone for good? A week oregon truthful sounds similar a bully magnitude of time, but successful the end, it’s up to you.
Step two: download your past
If you’ve been connected Twitter / X for a while, you’ll astir apt person a backload of tweets that you mightiness privation to support successful lawsuit determination is info you’ll privation successful the aboriginal oregon conscionable arsenic a reminder of past glories. If you haven’t been regularly backing up your account, here’s how:
Screenshot: X Corp.
- Look successful the broadside paper connected the browser oregon pat your idiosyncratic icon successful the mobile app.
- In the browser, prime More > Settings and Privacy > Your relationship > Download an archive of your data.
- In the mobile app, prime Settings & Support > Settings and Privacy > Your relationship > Download an archive of your data.
- You’ll beryllium asked to reenter your password and participate a verification codification from your registered email account, on with perchance different verification codes.
- Select Request archive.
It whitethorn instrumentality up to 24 hours to get a transcript of your archive; you’ll get notified some via the app and via email. You’ll get your info successful 2 formats: HTML and JSON. According to X, the info volition include:
...your illustration information, your posts, your Direct Messages, your Moments, your media (images, videos, and GIFs you’ve attached to posts, Direct Messages, oregon Moments), a database of your followers, a database of accounts that you are following, your code book, Lists that you’ve created, are a subordinate of oregon follow, involvement and demographic accusation that we person inferred astir you, accusation astir ads that you’ve seen oregon engaged with connected X, and more.
Step three: deactivate your Twitter relationship
Okay, you’ve told your followers you’re leaving, and you’ve got your posts safely archived. Now it’s clip to deactivate your account. Here’s however to bash it:
- In your browser, click More successful the bottommost near of the screen. In the mobile app, pat your illustration icon.
- In your browser, prime Settings and Support > Settings and privacy > Your relationship > Deactivate your account.
- In the mobile app, prime Settings & Support > Settings and Privacy > Your relationship > Deactivate account.
There are respective paragraphs of accusation to work earlier you get to the deactivation link, including links informing you astir what information whitethorn inactive beryllium disposable aft you deactivate your account, however to alteration your username, oregon however to power your existent username to a antithetic account.
You’ll besides beryllium informed that your relationship won’t beryllium permanently gone aft this process — astatine least, not yet. X retains your accusation for 30 days earlier deleting it permanently. To reconstruct your relationship wrong that clip period, log backmost successful and corroborate that you privation to reactivate your account.
And remember, if you’re looking for societal networking, news, and conversation, you’ve got respective alternatives — oregon you tin conscionable travel present to The Verge. Don’t worry. We’re ever present for you.