Twitter says accounts that have not been logged into for six months leading up to Dec. 11 will be removed, likely freeing up a large number of usernames
No exact date for when usernames will be available — Twitter is sending out emails to owners of inactive accounts with a warning …
Context & Ripple Effects
On Nov. 27, 2019, Twitter told users it would delete any account not logged into for the prior six months as of Dec. 11, emailing warnings ahead of the cutoff — a move that would release a large pool of dormant usernames back into circulation. TechCrunch argued the same day that Twitter should offer a way to memorialize deceased people's accounts before deleting anything.
That criticism landed fast: within two days, per Axios reporting in the related coverage, Twitter paused the deletion plan entirely, saying it wouldn't proceed until it builds a memorialization option. The episode turned a routine account-hygiene policy into a test of how platforms handle the accounts of dead users.
First-order effects
- Owners of dormant accounts get warning emails and face losing their handles — and whatever identity or history attaches to them — unless they log in before the deadline.
- Handle-seekers, including squatters and fans, stand to gain access to a wave of newly freed, often desirable usernames.
Second-order effects
- Re-releasing established handles without a death or consent check creates an impersonation risk: a deleted account's username can be re-registered by someone else, so Twitter has to build memorialization tooling before it can safely resume deletions.
- The forced pause pushes a digital-estate feature onto Twitter's product roadmap, competing for engineering attention against the platform's core timeline and safety work.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, mass-deletion policies at major platforms become contingent on legacy and memorialization options first, making account-death handling a standard compliance-style expectation rather than an optional courtesy.
The trend: Social platforms are being pushed to treat user accounts as digital legacies, with memorialization becoming a precondition for any mass deletion policy.
Related: Memory as infrastructure · Twitter · Twitter pauses inactive-account deletions over deceased-user concerns · Twitter should offer a way to memorialize dead people's accounts
Related Coverage
- Twitter prepares for huge cull of inactive users BBC · Dave Lee
- View article help.twitter.com
- Twitter will start deleting inactive accounts in December (updated) Engadget · Jon Fingas
- Twitter will free up handles by deleting inactive accounts TechCrunch · Brian Heater
- This might be your best chance to preserve tweets from deceased loved ones The Verge · Jon Porter
- Twitter will delete your account if you haven't used it for over six months CNET · Abrar Al-Heeti
- Twitter is removing inactive accounts which means you can snag your preferred username USA Today · Dalvin Brown
- Twitter is about to delete inactive accounts. Here's how to keep yours Digital Trends · Allison Matyus
- Twitter will soon delete your account if you don't log on enough New York Post · Hannah Sparks
- Twitter will fail to remove spam bots with latest strategy Decrypt
- Twitter will soon delete your account if you don't use it enough CNN · Michelle Toh
- PSA: Twitter will deactivate your account if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months KnowTechie · Colin Barry
- How to Preserve the Tweets of Someone Who Has Died Before Twitter Purges Them Lifehacker · David Murphy
- Twitter will start deleting inactive accounts TrustChain Systems · Gabriella Erdei
- Twitter Is Going to Cull Accounts That Haven't Been Used for 6 Months Newser · Rob Quinn
- Twitter is mass-culling accounts with no activity Inquirer · Chris Merriman
- Twitter Deleting Accounts Inactive For Over 6 Months International Business Times · Julio Cachila
- Twitter will delete inactive accounts starting next month Gizchina · Abdullah
- Twitter puts inactive users on a deadline to save their accounts Silicon Republic · Elaine Burke
- Twitter goes on a cleaning spree, will delete inactive accounts by Dec 11 MediaNama · Aditi Agrawal
- Twitter is deleting unused accounts, freeing up loads of usernames BetaNews · Mark Wyciślik-Wilson
- Twitter To Start Repossessing Inactive Accounts Next Month Geek.com · Stephanie Mlot
- Twitter will delete accounts that have been inactive for six months TechSpot · Rob Thubron
- Twitter to remove inactive accounts to free up usernames starting December 91mobiles.com · Shekhar Thakran
- Twitter to remove a large number of inactive accounts in December; sends warning email BGR India
- Twitter intends to deactivate all accounts that have been inactive for at least six months Firstpost Tech
- Twitter plans to start deleting inactive accounts in December MSPoweruser · Anmol
- Twitter is freeing up usernames as it removes inactive accounts iMore · Joe Wituschek
- Twitter Will Delete Inactive Accounts Starting December 11th Wccftech · Anil Ganti
- Twitter will delete inactive accounts starting December The Next Web · Napier Lopez
- You may soon be able to get the Twitter username you've always wanted 9to5Mac · Chance Miller
- Twitter to Purge Accounts That Have Been Inactive for 6 Months Search Engine Journal · Matt Southern
- Twitter to free up inactive handles, and this will definitely get ugly Mashable · Jack Morse
- Twitter to cull inactive users Boing Boing · Rob Beschizza
- Twitter to Dormant Account Holders: Use 'em or Lose 'em Adweek · David Cohen
- Twitter plans to purge inactive accounts Axios · Orion Rummler
- Twitter will start removing inactive accounts, freeing up usernames in December iDownloadBlog.com · Evan Selleck
- Twitter Is Finally Deleting Inactive Accounts Thurrott · Mehedi Hassan
- Twitter to delete inactive accounts on December 11 to free up usernames Neowin · Jay Bonggolto
- Warning: Twitter will deactivate your unused accounts this December Memeburn · Shereesa Moodley
- Some Pretty Good Twitter Handles That May Soon Become Available Gizmodo · Bryan Menegus
- Fears raised over Twitter's deceased person policy, and one possible solution 9to5Mac · Ben Lovejoy
- Twitter users complain over plans to delete inactive accounts Telegraph · James Cook
Discussion
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help.twitter.com
help.twitter.com
on x
Inactive account policy
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@daveleebbc
Dave Lee
on x
More on Twitter's action on inactive accounts: The company is clawing back accounts that have been inactive for more than *six months*, which is likely a very large number. Inactive = user hasn't *logged in*. Seeking clarification on what happens to useful/fun bot accounts.
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@daveleebbc
Dave Lee
on x
Here's some more info on the Twitter user cull. As it stands, every person who has had Twitter and died more than six months ago will be deleted from the site - UNLESS someone already has their log-in details. https://www.bbc.com/...
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@leloveluck
Louisa Loveluck
on x
What about accounts that fell inactive because users were killed, threatened or otherwise unable to continue after posting updates on Syria's war? How much evidence would we lose? https://twitter.com/...
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@adamadzp
Adam
on x
Hi @Twitter, please consider the possibility of memorialising accounts. I often refer back to my late partners tweets as a reminder of Dean's thoughts & feelings & the memories we've shared. Don't remove accounts before sorting this, please. https://twitter.com/...
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@katienotopoulos
Katie Notopoulos
on x
OH HELL YEAH FINALLY @bigpenis WILL BE MINE https://www.theverge.com/...
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@chriswelch
Chris Welch
on x
I asked Twitter if accounts of deceased people will be removed for inactivity: “We do not currently have a way to memorialize someone's Twitter account once they have passed on, but the team is thinking about ways to do this.” https://www.theverge.com/...
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@s_m_i
Stacy-Marie Ishmael
on x
Having been really awfully burnt by how Twitter handles the cases of users who died, this doesn't surprise me. https://twitter.com/...
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@bgurley
Bill Gurley
on x
100% unrelated to and having nothing to do with @davegoldberg's account, please, please, please don't delete @Fakechamath ! https://twitter.com/...
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@hunterwalk
@hunterwalk
on x
betting i “lose” 50% of my follower count from this. anyone who has been on twitter 10+ years has a high % of inactive/dormant followers. Will be great to get a sense of what the real, active community looks like... https://twitter.com/...
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@kimzetter
Kim Zetter
on x
In response to @twitter announcing plans to delete inactive accounts and make the handles available for others to use, the @internetarchive is offering help with archiving the accounts of deceased persons for family members/loved ones. https://twitter.com/...
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@lizthegrey
Liz Fong-Jones
on x
This is going to be vile, because it means that transphobes will register the handles of people they killed through harassment campaigns, in order to harass and harm the survivors. :( https://twitter.com/...
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@yeswecrann
Joe Crann
on x
Say bye-bye to some of that follower count... https://twitter.com/...
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@katie_roof
Katie Roof
on x
Omg! Does this mean I can get raisetheroof back? (Yes I gave that up oops) https://twitter.com/...
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@tomphillipseg
Tom Phillips
on x
Could do with culling most of the active ones too https://twitter.com/...
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@bzamayo
Benjamin Mayo
on x
This is like Twitter musical chairs. All the old inactive accounts will be flushed out and then immediately all the good handles will be snatched up by different scalpers to be sat on forever until the next big cleanup. https://twitter.com/...
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@marshmellomusic
Marshmello
on x
burner account name hunting szn starts soon https://twitter.com/...
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@ericajoy
Erica Joy
on x
this is gonna sweep a lot of dormant accounts spammers and bot/sock puppet controllers have purchased and been holding for future deployment. i am generally ok with this. https://twitter.com/...
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@chriswelch
Chris Welch
on x
Twitter spokesperson says “account removal will happen over many months — not just on a single day.” So don't expect a huge username rush on December 12th. https://www.theverge.com/...
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@jimminy
James Fuller
on x
Hey yo @twitter @TwitterSupport this isn't cool. I still visit several deceased friends twitter feeds and this is poorly thought out bullshit. These individuals cannot consent or act in a manner to prevent your removal. https://twitter.com/...
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@giordanobc
Giordano Bruno Contestabile
on x
When the PM is given a really aggressive MAU number to hit for the month https://twitter.com/...
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@eastcoastmtber
@eastcoastmtber
on x
@Techmeme @chriswelch Six months? That's a bit aggressive.
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@joshgnosis
Josh Taylor
on x
Does that include @rupertmurdoch https://twitter.com/...
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@ajt
Alexander Taub
on x
They need to make a big deal about this - I've been saying this forever - this could be a huge user growth play. https://twitter.com/...
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@daveleebbc
Dave Lee
on x
Can someone please log-in to @bigbenclock_
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@johncolucci
John Colucci
on x
A big part of this news is that deceased folks with great legacies on the platform likely will be purged (i.e. @carr2n) “We do not currently have a way to memorialize someone's Twitter account once they have passed on, but the team is thinking about ways to do this.” -Twitter htt…
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@nabeel
Nabeel Hyatt
on x
I had not thought of this angle, I admit. I love twitter for all it's crazy humanity, and hope they find a way to incorporate empathy here. https://twitter.com/...