Don’t delete your Twitter account, do this instead

If Twitter offers the option to delete your account, that’s not the best way to do it. We explain why and how to act instead.

If you are considering deleting your Twitter account, no one can blame you. The platform is at the center of the storm and the calm doesn’t seem to be returning. However, before resorting to drastic measures, know that it is better not to completely delete your account. There is a cleaner way to do this.

Why is it dangerous to delete your Twitter account?

When you initiate the process of deactivating your Twitter account, it takes 30 days before it is permanently deleted. However, after this period, your username becomes public again. Anyone can reuse it.

And this is something that should not be taken lightly. If your Twitter account uses your real name, problems can quickly arise. And even more so if you are a public person. If you delete your Twitter and someone gets your nickname, that someone can tweet as if it were you. And there is worse: with the return of Twitter Blue, it will be possible to “certify” yourself. To normal people, tweets from this account will appear to be coming from you.

Your identity also exists today on the Internet and social media. When people search the web for your name, people will find tweets from that account that don’t belong to you. And the consequences can be very serious. It can cost you your job, for example, if your employer discovers dangerous tweets that don’t belong to you but come from an account in your name.

Even if this kind of misfortune does not happen to you, you do not want anyone to use your name. Therefore, the best solution would be to abandon your account without deleting it completely.

How to Log Out of Twitter Safely

The first step is to delete all your tweets. This is usually done automatically after 30 days, if you use the official deactivation feature, here you need to do it manually. You can delete your tweets one by one, but this can take a very long time. Instead, use a dedicated service like Tweet Deleter. Even likes are removed. Tweet Deleter saves your deleted tweets in its app, but you can download the archive from your Twitter account if you wish.

Once your tweets and likes have been processed, it’s time to move on to deactivation. Go to Settings & Privacy > Privacy & Security > Audience & Identity, then select Protect My Tweets. If you have public information associated with your account, such as likes, your account privacy will prevent users who are not following you from seeing it.

Then go to your profile, then “Edit Profile”to remove the personal information in your bio and replace your profile picture and everything. Finally, change your password to something completely unguessable. This is the digital version of locking the door and throwing away the key.