Twitter pauses its plan to delete inactive accounts, after concerns were raised about deceased users, until it creates a way to memorialize accounts

Twitter said Wednesday it was putting on hold a plan to delete inactive accounts amid concerns that accounts from deceased users would be swept up in the purge.

Axios 2019-11-29 Ina Fried

Context & Ripple Effects

Twitter had set a December 11 deadline to remove any account not logged into for six months, framing the move as housekeeping that would free up a large number of usernames — the purge was announced just two days before this pause. TechCrunch's objection landed first: deleting dormant accounts without a memorialization option would destroy the timelines of deceased users, and Twitter conceded the point by suspending the whole program until such a tool exists.

The episode puts Twitter behind Facebook, which had already built posthumous handling into its product, including [[a:940458|an AI-driven fix so the platform stops prompting friends to reach out to dead users plus a dedicated tribute section]]. It is also the second time in two years Twitter has paused a signature feature mid-rollout after public backlash, following its halt of all general verifications while it reworked that policy.

First-order effects

The December 11 username release is off: squatters, brand defenders, and handle-seekers who were waiting for inactive accounts to clear will not get their targets on schedule.
Families and followers of deceased users keep access to those accounts' histories for now, instead of seeing them deleted wholesale at the cutoff.

Second-order effects

Twitter now has a product gap against Facebook on end-of-life account handling, forcing it to design and ship a memorialization feature simply to resume a cleanup it had already announced.
Every platform running inactivity-based deletion policies faces the same objection, since dormancy and death correlate strongly — the purge logic itself, not just the December date, is what's on trial.

Third-order effects

Digital remains are becoming a standard account state that platforms must engineer for explicitly, alongside active and suspended — a category Facebook entered early and Twitter has been slow to follow.
The gap between announcement and delivery may be structural: a year later, Twitter had still not launched the promised memorialization system, suggesting these commitments function more as backlash valves than roadmapped products.

The trend: Platforms are being pushed to treat death as a first-class account status rather than an edge case of inactivity policies, with Facebook setting the template and Twitter trailing.

Discussion

Twitter Help Center Twitter Help Center on x
Inactive account policy
@twittersupport @twittersupport on x
We've heard you on the impact that this would have on the accounts of the deceased. This was a miss on our part. We will not be removing any inactive accounts until we create a new way for people to memorialize accounts.
@twittersupport @twittersupport on x
We've heard your feedback about our effort to delete inactive accounts and want to respond and clarify. Here's what's happening:
@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.
@twittersupport @twittersupport on x
This impacts accounts in the EU only, for now. We've always had an inactive account policy but we haven't enforced it consistently. We're starting with the EU in part due to local privacy regulations (eg, GDPR).
@jack @jack on x
Clarifying all the confusion we caused https://twitter.com/...
@mcclure111 Mcc on x
Follow-up: Twitter posted this thread, which explains virtually nothing. They say their new abandoned-account policy is “only in the EU, for now” ("for now"?) and it's somehow to comply with GDPR (how so?). They do say the dead are exempted from the policy https://twitter.com/...
@felixsalmon Felix Salmon on x
Mine: pic.twitter.com/Rr7Va137JT
@jack @jack on x
@WillOremus This is mostly a miscommunication on our part. On us to clarify. On it now. @vijaya @kayvz
@panzer Matthew Panzarino on x
As they currently stand the twitter purge rules will mean the removal of dead loved ones' twitter accounts if you're unable to log in. Sadly the internet archive has to step in here. Hoping twitter takes a beat or two to think about a memorial option. https://twitter.com/...
@twittersupport @twittersupport on x
Beyond complying with GDPR, we may broaden the enforcement of our inactivity policy in the future to comply with other regulations around the world and to ensure the integrity of the service. We will communicate with all of you if we do.
@jamesrbuk James Ball on x
This is a good move and the first time I can recall I've seen Twitter listen and respond well, and quickly. (Limited) credit where it's due. https://twitter.com/...
@leojtravis10 Joe Ortiz on x
The right move to make here. For once, I'm glad they listened. https://twitter.com/...
@iheartshinee_ @iheartshinee_ on x
ㅠㅠㅠ thank you for the fast and wonderful respond ㅠㅠ https://twitter.com/...
@mrbrendancox Brendan Cox on x
Thank you @Twitter and to everyone who complained loud enough to get this changed. https://twitter.com/...
@nwplayer123 Nikki on x
I'm sure Etika would be safe since he's verified but 🙏 https://twitter.com/...
@kcoleman Keith Coleman on x
Clarifications and updates for all those who've been asking (and thank you for the deluge of feedback — it does indeed make a difference) 👇 https://twitter.com/...
@juliaferraioli Julia Ferraioli on x
This is a beautiful, heart-wrenching piece by @yoda about his late father's Twitter account getting deleted in Twitter's effort to reclaim accounts. I am absolutely baffled by the fact that @Twitter doesn't have a way to memorialize an account. https://techcrunch.com/...
@merxplat Merrin Macleod on x
I think death is one of the places where a design and development focus on a singular user falls down. How do you capture dying in a user story or customer journey? https://twitter.com/...
@ismh Stephen Hackett on x
Twitter bros had to be told that maybe some people have died since signing up for their service. “We've heard you on the impact that this would have on the accounts of the deceased. This was a miss on our part,” the company tweeted today. https://www.theverge.com/...
@andymoney69 Lethal Weaponman on x
you get to live another day @blockbuster @NBCTheSlap https://twitter.com/...
@cwarzel Charlie Warzel on x
agree! but also lack of foresight on big decisions from tech companies often makes me wonder what their decision making processes are like. i always wonder how academics, journalists, industry watchers, total randos see these things before the ppl at the helm https://twitter.com/…
@xor Parker Higgins on x
No surprise perhaps but I think this point is overthinking it, unless the purpose is actually to remove account data and not just reallocate usernames https://twitter.com/...
@martinsfp Martin Sfp Bryant on x
Sensible. The username gold rush can wait. https://twitter.com/...
@joshuaogundu Josh on x
This is what happens when you actually use qualitative data when making decisions https://twitter.com/...
@ericajoy @ericajoy on x
Good. I'm glad Twitter is listening. https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
love the the new way of running tech companies which can only be described as “governing by getting owned” https://twitter.com/...
@inafried Ina Fried on x
Everyone has a story of a now deceased person whose tweets they want preserved. Mine is @LyraMcKee who was killed while reporting (and tweeting) from Derry. It's important that future generations see how she lived and died. Cc @jack @kayvz @ellenfromnowon https://twitter.com/...
@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/...
@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…
@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/...
@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/...
@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/...
@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/...
@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/...
@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/...
@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/...
@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/...
@eastcoastmtber @eastcoastmtber on x
@Techmeme @chriswelch Six months? That's a bit aggressive.

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