How to deactivate your X account

As soon as upon a time, Twitter — now X — was the place to get your memes, world information, and popular culture. Nonetheless, even on the time, being an energetic Twitter consumer additionally required sifting via a each day deluge of poisonous characters, bots, and deepfakes. Then the Elon Musk circus got here to city and commenced steadily altering the previously standard social community, to the purpose that lots of its adherents started bailing by shifting to a number of of the brand new social networks, comparable to Threads, Bluesky, or Mastodon.

Now that the 2024 US presidential election is over, Musk appears like he’s going to be a minimum of one of many powers behind the throne. Add to that current modifications which have made X much less protected to make use of, and it’s no shock that there’s now a brand new wave of X customers trying to go away the platform. Should you’re one in all them, right here’s some recommendation on the way to deactivate your account.

Should you’re nonetheless energetic on X or have lots of associates and followers you wish to keep in contact with, you might wish to be certain that they know the place you’re going and why. A technique to try this is to first make your account personal in order that solely your present followers can see your account.

• Look within the aspect menu on the browser or faucet your private icon within the cell app.
• Within the browser, choose Extra > Settings and Privateness > Privateness and security > Viewers, media and tagging > Defend your posts.
• Within the cell app, choose Settings & Help > Settings and Privateness > Privateness and security > Viewers and tagging > Defend your posts.
• Within the browser pop-up, choose Defend.

Now, solely the individuals who observe it is possible for you to to see your posts and different account data. You’ll see a closed lock icon subsequent to your title within the bottom-left nook of the display.

What you place in your “I’m leaving now” message will depend on who your followers are. Should you’ve been rigorously vetting your account and know just about everybody who’s following you, you may allow them to know the place you’re going and what your new handle is in case they wish to observe you.

If, however, you’re a well-liked particular person and should have followers who aren’t utterly reliable, you may both inform them the place you’re going with none particulars — or, to be cautious, merely say goodbye.

How lengthy must you go away your account personal earlier than you’re gone for good? Every week or so appears like a very good size of time, however in the long run, it’s as much as you.

Should you’ve been on Twitter / X for some time, you’ll most likely have a backload of tweets that you simply may wish to maintain in case there’s data you’ll need sooner or later or simply as a reminder of previous glories. Should you haven’t been recurrently backing up your account, right here’s how:

• Look within the aspect menu on the browser or faucet your private icon within the cell app.
• Within the browser, choose Extra > Settings and Privateness > Your account > Obtain an archive of your information.
• Within the cell app, choose Settings & Help > Settings and Privateness > Your account > Obtain an archive of your information.
• You’ll be requested to reenter your password and enter a verification code out of your registered electronic mail account, together with probably different verification codes.
• Choose Request archive.

It might take as much as 24 hours to get a replica of your archive; you’ll get notified each through the app and through electronic mail. You’ll get your data in two codecs: HTML and JSON. In keeping with X, the data will embody:

…your profile data, your posts, your Direct Messages, your Moments, your media (pictures, movies, and GIFs you’ve connected to posts, Direct Messages, or Moments), a listing of your followers, a listing of accounts that you’re following, your handle e-book, Lists that you simply’ve created, are a member of or observe, curiosity and demographic data that we’ve got inferred about you, details about adverts that you simply’ve seen or engaged with on X, and extra. 

Okay, you’ve advised your followers you’re leaving, and also you’ve bought your posts safely archived. Now it’s time to deactivate your account. Right here’s the way to do it:

• In your browser, click on Extra within the backside left of the display. Within the cell app, faucet your profile icon.
• In your browser, choose Settings and Help > Settings and privateness > Your account > Deactivate your account.
• Within the cell app, choose Settings & Help > Settings and Privateness > Your account > Deactivate account.

There are a number of paragraphs of knowledge to learn earlier than you get to the deactivation hyperlink, together with hyperlinks informing you about what information should be accessible after you deactivate your account, the way to change your username, or the way to change your present username to a distinct account.

You’ll additionally be told that your account received’t be completely gone after this course of — a minimum of, not but. X retains your data for 30 days earlier than deleting it completely. To revive your account inside that point interval, log again in and make sure that you simply wish to reactivate your account.

And bear in mind, in case you’re searching for social networking, information, and dialog, you’ve bought a number of alternate options — or you may simply come right here to The Verge. Don’t fear. We’re at all times right here for you.