[FAST] How to Delete Your Twitter Account: A Guide For 2022

How to Delete Your Twitter Account last updated: July 2022

With identity theft and mass data breaches becoming almost commonplace in our digital age, many of us have begun to reconsider the amount of personal information we share online. Data brokers and cybercriminals are constantly trolling the internet to gather bits of demographic data about individual users, which they can then bundle into packages for sale to marketers, hackers, and anyone else willing to shell out a few dollars to download the report.

In addition to preventing access to your personal information, deleting Twitter can provide other benefits as well. Spending less time on social media sites can boost mental health, and if you’re planning to apply for a new job or enroll in college in the near future, scrubbing your social media presence can make you more likely to land an interview or acceptance letter.

If you’re contemplating a departure from the popular microblogging platform with its idiosyncratic 280-character post parameters, keep reading to learn how to permanently delete your Twitter presence and factors to consider before flipping the switch.

Considerations Before You Decide to Delete

Before you make the decision to leave Twitter for good, there are a few questions you should ask yourself to ensure that this direction is the appropriate one for you.

• If you’re planning to delete your account because you want to change the username associated with it, you don’t need to take this drastic step. Twitter allows users to update their usernames to any handle that isn’t already being used by someone else. That way, you can put a fresh face on your account without losing your existing followers or Tweet history.
• If your goal is to set up a new account with the same username or email address being used for your current account, make sure you complete this step prior to deleting your old account, since usernames and email addresses associated with deactivated accounts cannot be used with new or future accounts.
• If you want to delete your account but preserve your past tweets and other activity, you’ll need to download a copy of your Twitter archive before you deactivate (more on this step in a bit).
• If you want to ensure that past tweets are immediately and permanently erased from the internet, you’ll have to go through and delete each tweet individually or use a bulk-deletion app such as TweetDelete to handle this process for you. Otherwise, your old profile and/or tweets may occasionally appear in search engine results or online archives.

Deactivating/Deleting Your Twitter Account

Before you deactivate your account—Twitter’s term for leaving the platform—the company recommends keeping your username and email address viable in case you decide to return in the future and want to be able to access the ones you use currently. In the Profile Settings section, update your current username and email address to something you don’t mind losing access to, then verify the update by clicking the link in the confirmation email you receive from Twitter before proceeding with deactivation.

When you deactivate your Twitter account, you can still change your mind and restore your existing account if you log back in within 30 days of submitting your deactivation request. After that, you’ll no longer be able to access your old account, and Twitter will begin the process of removing your profile from the platform.

How to Delete Your Twitter Account from a DEsktop Browser

• Click on your profile icon in the top right corner of the screen and select Settings and Privacy.
• Under the Account tab, go to the bottom of the page and click Deactivate Your Account.
• Scroll down to the bottom of the next screen and click Deactivate.
• Type in your password and click Deactivate Account to confirm.

How to Delete Your Twitter Account on a Mobile DEvice

• Tap on the profile photo in the top left corner and select Settings and Privacy from the drop-down menu.
• Click on Account, scroll to the bottom of the next screen and tap Deactivate Your Account.
• Go to the bottom of the page and select Deactivate.
• Enter your password in the prompt and tap Deactivate Account.

Final Thoughts on How to Delete Your Twitter Account

If you have a change of heart within the permitted reactivation period, simply log into your Twitter account and it will be fully restored. Once you allow your deactivation to become permanent, it is still possible for an old Tweet or defunct account to be discovered using special archive tools like the Internet Wayback Machine, but your account and its content will no longer appear in traditional search engine results, making it highly unlikely that your old Tweets will come back to haunt you.

Looking for more information on deleting accounts beyond how to delete your Twitter account? We have guides for Instagram, Facebook, Tinder, and Reddit, as well as an overall social media cleanse guide.