How to Delete Inactive or Suspended Twitter Account

While Twitter is a social networking platform and is used by many for tweeting their day to day activities, sharing news articles and for many other activities, there has been an up-rise of unwanted bots, increased instances of cyber-bullying as well as fake news spreading.

Under these circumstances, you may want to delete your inactive Twitter account. Read on to find out how you can deactivate and delete your Twitter account. At the end of this guide, we have also included what you need to do in case your Twitter account is suspended and you want to delete it.

Guide to Deleting Twitter Account

The good thing is that it is actually very easy to delete your Twitter account forever. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you delete the account in case you are not using it anymore.

1. Log in to Twitter from a Computer

You must access the account you wish to delete from a desktop. It is not possible to remove the account from the mobile app for Twitter which is available on Android, iOS or other mobile operating systems.

2. Open the Settings Option

Visit your settings page by clicking here.

Alternatively You can access the “Settings & Privacy” option by clicking on your profile picture which is located on the top bar of the webpage in the right corner.

A drop down menu will open up where you will be able to find the menu option of “Settings”. It may also be seen as “Settings & Privacy” in the menu.

3. Request an Archive

It is good idea to back up your tweets before deleting the account. You can request twitter to archive your tweets which you can download.

In your settings page, upon scrolling down to the bottom, you will find an option called ‘Request your archive’.

By clicking on this option, you can get a file that contains the entire archive of your Twitter timeline right from the very first tweet that you had posted.

Once you request the archive, you will have to wait for some time as Twitter prepares the file. A link to this file will be emailed to you as soon as it is ready.

The archive simply acts as a memoir of everything you have shared on Twitter for future reference. As such, this step is completely optional and you can skip it without any problems.

4. Deactivate the account

Just below the ‘Request your archive’ option you will notice the ‘deactivate my account’ option. Click on this option

5. Agree to the Terms

As you click on that option, a new page will open up. It will give you a few pieces of information regarding the deactivation of the account.

Read the terms before you press on the deactivate button to delete Twitter account.

6. Confirm by Providing your Password

After clicking on the deactivate option, you will be asked to provide your password for the last time. Enter the password and press the ‘deactivate account’ button to finally get rid of the Twitter account.

Important Points

Even though the process of deleting your account is extremely easy, there are still a few points that you should know before you do so.

• It takes only a few minutes for an account to disappear from Twitter after it has been deactivated.
• However, it is possible for some of the content that you have posted to remain viewable by the other Twitter users for a few days afterward.
• While the account will remain deactivated, Twitter will retain the data about your account for a period of 30 days from the day you deleted it. During this period, you can log in back to your account if you want and resume your activates on the social network. However, this will stop the deactivation process. Therefore, you must not access the account before the 30 days are completed.
• Twitter has stated that it cannot control the content that has been indexed by Bing or Google. Therefore, it is possible for some of the content that you have posted through the account to be searchable and viewable by these search engines.
• One of the most important points that you must remember is about the email address and the username of the account. If you are planning on reusing either or both of them, you must make sure that you change them before deleting the account. They can be changed through the settings option. Twitter requires each account to be associated with a unique email address.

How to Delete Twitter Account When You Forgot the Password

If you have forgotten your password, you need to first reset the password. Here are the steps by which you can do so.

• If you are logged in to the Twitter account, you should log out.
• In the sign in page of Twitter, you will find a ‘forgot password’ option. Click on it.
• You will be asked to enter the email address of the account or the phone number. Alternatively, you can enter your username.
• Once you have entered the details, you will be sent a link via your email.
• Open the email and click on the password reset link.
• You can now choose a new password.
• If you have chosen to enter your phone number, Twitter will send an SMS to that number. The SMS will contain a unique 6-digit code. Remember that the code is valid only for 15 minutes.
• Enter the code in the website.
• You will be given the option to choose a new password.

Once you have reset the password, you can follow the process given above to delete your Twitter account permanently.

How to Delete Twitter Account When It Is Suspended

If your twitter account is suspended, then you need to get the suspension revoked before you can delete it. Here are some of the ways by which this can be achieved.

Revoke Suspension on Your Own

In some cases, you may find that you are being asked to provide your email address or phone number.

You simply need to click on the prompt and follow the instructions given to get rid of the suspension.

Locked Accounts

It is possible for a Twitter account to get locked when it has been reported. In this case, you may be unable to use the account for some time.

Alternatively, you may be requested to provide certain information. Follow the instructions given and it will be unlocked.

Appeal

If you are unable to remove the suspension by the above methods, you need to file an appeal for help. This process will take time.

You can find more detail on Twitter about suspended account and how to file an appeal. Once your account is restored, you will be able to delete it using the guide above.

You can always check the official guidelines provided by Twitter to get the necessary help to delete Twitter account completely. Nonetheless, these tips ought to help.