Taking a break from X? We get it. Sometimes it’s good to take a step back from everything that’s going on. Or if you’re looking for a permanent break, we can help you too. Follow our step-by-step instructions on how to deactivate—or delete—your X account.
Deactivating vs deleting your X account
Deactivating your X account is the first step to deleting your account permanently. Deactivation lasts 30 days. If you do not access your account within the 30-day deactivation period, your account is deleted and your username will no longer be associated with your account.
Deactivating your X account
Deactivation begins the process to permanently delete your X account. This step initiates a 30-day window that gives you space to decide if you’d like to reactivate your account.
Deactivating your X account means your username (or “handle”) and public profile will not be viewable on X.com, X for iOS or X for Android.
Deleting your X account
After your 30-day deactivation window, your X account is permanently deleted. When you don’t log into your account during the 30-day window, it lets us know you want to permanently delete your X account. Once your account is deleted, your account is no longer available in our systems. You won’t be able to reactivate your previous account and you won’t have access to any old Tweets.
Once your account is deleted after the 30-day deactivation window, your username will be available for registration by other X accounts.
Before you delete your X account
Before you go ahead and delete your account, make sure you’re doing so for the right reasons and have taken any necessary steps required. We’ll go into more detail on these below but here are a few quick questions to answer before you deactivate:
- Are you looking to change your username? If so, you don’t need to delete your account and start a new one. X allows you to change your username to one that isn’t already taken. This way, you won’t lose any of your followers and you can choose if you want to keep any or all of your Tweets.
- Are you planning to set up a new X account with the same username or email address associated with your current one? If so, you should do this before you deactivate your account.
- Do you want to save some of the information in your X account? In this case, you should request your archived data before you go ahead with the deactivation process.
- Do you simply want to get rid of a lot of Tweets, but can’t face the hassle of deleting them one by one? Instead of deleting your account and starting over, you can use an app such as TweetDelete to bulk delete your Tweets.
How to delete your X account permanently
- Log in to your X account.
- From the main page, click the three-dot menu icon on the left sidebar and select Settings and privacy.
- Select Deactivate your account.
- Read through the information and click Deactivate.
- You’ll be asked to confirm your password, then you can click Deactivateone more time.
How to delete your account on the mobile app:
- Log in to your X account via the mobile app.
- Click your profile picture and select Settings and privacyfrom the menu.
- Under your username, select Account.
- Click Deactivate your account.
- Read the messages and select Deactivate.
- You’ll be prompted to enter your password and then you can hit Deactivateone final time.
What happens after I deactivate my account?
Once you’ve confirmed your account deactivation, your X profile and any associated information will no longer be accessible via the platform. However, it will take up to 30 days for X to start the process of deleting your account. Full account deletion can take up to an additional week.
Within the 30-day period, you can reactivate your account at any time just by logging in and confirming reactivation. This is good news for anyone who has deactivated their account in error or has a change of heart a few days or weeks after closing their account.
However, it does mean that your username and email address will remain tied to that account for those 30 days, so you can’t use them on another account.
X account deletion FAQs
Is deactivating X the same as deleting?
Deactivating your account will remove your account from X, but the action is reversible. Deactivation signals to X that you want to delete your account, but the deletion process won’t begin until 30 days after you deactivate. Deactivation is reversible for those 30 days, but once your account is deleted, it can’t be recovered.
Can I delete my X account and make a new one with the same email?
You are not allowed to have multiple X accounts associated with the same email. But you can change the email address associated with an existing account. When you deactivate your account, the associated email address won’t be available for 30 days. If you want to set up a new account with that email right away, your best bet is to change the email on the account you’re going to delete before you deactivate it.
Can I delete my X account and start again?
You can start over on X after you’ve deleted your account. But if you want to use the same username or email address, you should make the switch before you delete your existing account.
Do you lose followers if you deactivate X?
Had a change of heart and want to reactivate your account? During the 30-day deactivation period, your followers remain untouched. So when you reactivate, unless someone has actively unfollowed you, your numbers should be the same. That said, X does acknowledge that the following and follower numbers may fluctuate within the first 24 hours of reactivation. If the counts haven’t been fully restored within 48 hours, you should contact support.
How long does it take for X to delete an inactive account?
Looking for your old account but can’t find it? X may have deleted it already. The platform encourages users to log in regularly. If an account remains inactive for six months, X may delete it.
How do I reactivate my X after deactivating it?
If you want to reactivate your account, it’s as simple as logging in from any device. You’ll be prompted to confirm that you want to reactivate your account and then you can continue to use it as normal.
Why can I still see a deleted Tweet?
If a page is deleted or changed, it will take some time before it is recrawled and updated by search engines. In the meantime, the page can still show up in search results. For example, if you do a Google search for your name and “X,” some of your Tweets will show up on the results page. These Tweets could include some that you have recently deleted. Clicking them will take you to an error page, but the content is still visible on the search engine results page.
As mentioned above, Google, Yahoo, and Bing allow you to request the removal of individual URLs from their respective results pages. If you want to avoid this happening altogether, you can use the protected Tweets option within X. This should prevent search engine crawlers from indexing your Tweets, although any new followers will now have to request permission to view your posts.
To change your Tweets from public to protected, click the three-dot menu icon and go to Settings and privacy > Privacy and safety. Under Tweets, check the box next to Protect your Tweets.
What does the X archive show you?
Your archived data will come in the form of a zip folder. Clicking the Your archive link will show you an HTML document with an interface that’s similar in aesthetic to that of the X platform itself. This file holds all of your account information up until the moment the archive was requested.
You can view account information, Tweets, likes, direct messages, blocked and muted accounts, personalization data, lists, and more. Note that this file is for reference only and can not be used as a backup to restore data to your account.
Can you have 2 X accounts with the same email?
No, you can’t have two X accounts associated with the same email or username. To use the same email or username on another account, transfer first, then deactivate your existing account.
Can you have 2 X accounts with the same phone number?
Yes, you can have up to 10 X accounts associated with the same phone number. But you can only have one phone number associated with each account.
Can you recover a deleted X account after 30 days?
No, you will have to create a new account.
