How to Delete Your X / Twitter Account – A Step-by-Step Guide

Here’s how I deleted my X/Twitter account while retaining control over my handle so nobody else can take it. 

Caution: Following this step-by-step guide will break the web by removing all your Tweets and any images, videos, and other media files you’ve uploaded. Links to your Tweets will go to a “404 Not Found” page, embeds of your Tweets will no longer work, and searches for your Tweets will return nothing. This is probably what you want, but I’m saying it anyway to make sure you are aware of the consequences.

NOTE: When you deactivate an X/Twitter account, you have a 30-day grace period during which you can re-activate your account. Once that grace period is over, your account, your Tweets, and your media is permanently erased.

How to Migrate Your X/Twitter Handle (Username) to Avoid Impersonation

When you delete your X/Twitter account, your username becomes immediately available, so if someone wants to impersonate you, they can grab that handle and start using it right away. To avoid this:

1. Grab your computer and open your regular browser.
2. Log in to your current X account.
3. Open a separate incognito browser window or a different browser.
4. Create a new X account with a random throwaway name.
   NOTE: You need a different email account from the one you used for your original Twitter account to do this.
5. In both browsers, go to https://x.com/settings/screen_name (More -> Settings and Privacy -> Your Account -> Account Information -> Username).
6. In your original account, change the username to something else, for example [your-handle]OLD. 
7. In your new account, immediately change the username to your original handle.
   NOTE: When you release an X username, it becomes available immediately so do this right away.

If everything went right, you now have a new empty account with your old username, and your old account has a new throwaway name. The URL to your old username now points to the new account. 

How to Deactivate and Delete Your X/Twitter Account

Once you’ve either migrated your original X username or decided to abandon it, it’s time to deactivate and delete your account.

1. In your browser, make sure you’re logged into the account you want to deactivate.
2. Navigate to https://x.com/settings/deactivate (More -> Settings and Privacy -> Your Account -> Deactivate your account).
3. Press “Deactivate”.
4. Enter your password when prompted.
5. Press “Deactivate” again if prompted.

Once this process is done, you get a drastically reduced UI with the message “Your account is deactivated. Sorry to see you go. #GoodBye.”

From now, you have a 30-day grace period during which you can re-activate your account.