How to delete your X account permanently in 7 steps

08 Nov 2024, 22:43 by Meira Gebel, · Business Insider Nederland

You can delete your X account by deactivating it on the X website or mobile app.
When you deactivate an X account, you have 30 days to reactivate it before permanent deletion.
You can also preserve your X username or email in case you want to use them with a new account.

Whether you're taking a break from social media or just want to start fresh, sometimes you simply need to get rid of your X, formerly Twitter, account.

If you're ready to say goodbye to the social media app, you can deactivate your account on the X website or mobile app for iPhone or Android.

But there's more you should know about deleting X — like protecting your data, unlinking third-party accounts, and reusing your username or email.

Read our complete guide first if you're thinking about deleting your X account.

How to delete your X account on iPhone or Android

Open the X app on your iPhone or Android.
Tap your profile picture in the top-left corner and select Settings and Support.
In the Settings and Support drop-down menu, click Settings and privacy.
Click on "Settings and Support" and the "Settings and privacy" drop-down will appear. Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Tap Your account at the top of Settings.
In the "Settings and privacy" menu, tap "Your account." Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Select Deactivate your account at the bottom of the page.
In the "Your account" page, tap "Deactivate your account." Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Scroll to the bottom of the page and tap Deactivate.
Click "Deactivate." Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Enter your password and tap Deactivate one last time.

Confirm your password and click "Deactivate" once more. Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider

How to delete your X account on desktop

Go to the X website and log in to your account.
In the menu on the left side of the X homepage, click the three dots in the bottom left corner.
Click the three dots on the bottom left corner. Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Select Settings and Support in the pop-up.
Click on "Settings and privacy." Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
At the top of the Settings menu, click Your account.
Go to "Your Account." Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Click Deactivate your account at the bottom of the menu.
Click "Deactivate your account." Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Click Deactivate at the bottom of the page.
Click "Deactivate." Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Enter your password and click the Deactivate button.
Enter your password and click "Deactivate." Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider

How to delete the X app

If you're not ready to delete your X account but want to take a break from the social network, you can delete the app from your device without deleting your entire account.

To delete the X app on an iPhone, hold your finger down on the app icon and tap Remove App at the bottom.

Click "Remove App," and then "Delete App." Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider

A pop-up will appear, and you can click the Delete App option to delete the app. Alternatively, to move the app to your App Library, tap Remove from Home Screen.

To delete the X app on an Android, hold your finger down on the app icon and tap Uninstall, or to hide the app, drag and drop it in your app drawer.

How to reuse your username or email on X

When you delete your X account, your username is deleted along with it. If you want to reuse your username, then before you deactivate your account, change your username to something you don't mind being deleted.

You can take the following steps before deactivating your account to preserve your current username or email address for future use.

Open X in a browser or in the mobile app and log in.
In a web browser or on mobile, click your profile picture in the upper left corner of the screen.
Choose the Settings and privacy option in the Settings and Support drop-down menu.
In Settings, select Your account, and then click the Account information option.
Select "Your account," and then click the "Account information" option. Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Click the gray arrow next to your username.
Click the "gray arrow next" to your username. Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Update your username in the New section.
Update your username in the "New" section. Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Click Done once completed.

Unlink any third-party apps from your account

Third-party apps can reactivate your account. To ensure that this does not happen, make sure that you unlink all of your third-party apps from your X account.

Open X in a browser or in the mobile app and log in.
In a web browser or on mobile, click your profile picture in the upper left corner of the screen.
Click on the Security and account access tab.
Click on the "Security and account access" tab. Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
Click on the Apps and sessions tab.
Click on the "Apps and sessions" tab. Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
In the pop-up window, select the Connected apps tab.
In the pop-up window, select the "Connected apps" tab. Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider
You can view all of your connected apps in the list that appears (none will appear if you don't have any apps connected). If you have apps connected, you will be able to select each app and click Revoke app permissions.

How to reactivate an X account

Open X in a browser or in the mobile app and log in.
Log in to your deactivated account.
An X message will ask you to confirm you want to reactivate.
Your account will be restored, though it might take a few days for all your tweets and messages to reappear.

Deleting tweets

To delete a post, click the three buttons on the top right corner of the tweet and then tap Delete Post.

Click the three buttons on the top right corner of the tweet and then tap "Delete Post." Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider

Backups

If you're weighing up whether or not you should leave X, you should consider backing up your tweets and other data in case you change your mind.

Go to Settings and privacy, then Your account, and click Download an archive of your data.

Click "Download an archive of your data." Foto: Jaures Yip/Business Insider

Then enter your username and password to request a ZIP file of your account information. You'll get a notification when it is ready to download.

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