After 30 days of deactivating my Twitter account, something interesting happened. I received an email from Twitter informing me that if I didn’t log into my account within the next two weeks, all my data and account would be permanently deleted. It was a bit surprising to receive such a reminder, but it made me wonder what exactly happens to deleted Twitter accounts.
So, I decided to do a little research and find out the details. Here’s what I discovered:
1. Deactivation vs. Deletion: It’s important to note that deactivating your Twitter account is different from permanently deleting it. When you deactivate your account, your profile, tweets, and followers are all hidden and inaccessible to others. However, the data is still retained by Twitter and can be restored if you choose to reactivate your account within 30 days.
2. Data Retention: Twitter retains your account information and data for a period of 30 days after deactivation. This means that if you decide to reactivate your account within this time frame, you can log back in and regain access to your profile, tweets, followers, and other data.
3. Permanently Deleting an Account: If you choose to go beyond the 30-day deactivation period without logging in, Twitter will proceed to permanently delete your account and all associated data. This includes your tweets, followers, profile information, and any other data you had on the platform. Once deleted, this data cannot be recovered.
4. Privacy Concerns: It’s worth mentioning that Twitter states they may retain certain information even after account deletion, but only in a limited and anonymous form. This is primarily done for purposes such as improving their services and complying with legal obligations. However, specific details about the extent and nature of this retention are not explicitly outlined.
5. Username and Email Address: Once your Twitter account is permanently deleted, your username and email address are freed up and can be used by others. This means that someone else could potentially create an account using your previous username or email address. So, it’s important to consider this if you’re planning to delete your account for good.
If you leave your Twitter account deactivated for longer than 30 days without logging in, all your data and account will be permanently deleted. Twitter retains your information for a limited period after deactivation, but beyond that, it’s gone for good. So, if you’re certain about leaving Twitter, make sure to back up any important data or information before deactivating or deleting your account.