How to deactivate your Twitter account

There is no doubt about the benefits of Twitter. It’s a convenient way to get your memes, world news, and pop culture all in one place.

But being an active Twitter user requires sifting through a daily deluge of toxic characters, including QAnon, white supremacists, bots, deepfakes, and more. (although you can’t find Donald Trump there anymore). Plus, there’s no denying the stress and anxiety that Twitter’s fast-paced news cycle, and the tension of constantly arguing guys, can bring.

Listen to me: you don’t have to use Twitter. I know it might seem like everyone is using it, but you can be the change you want to see in the world. You can simply delete your account.

Don’t worry: it doesn’t have to be permanent. If you feel empty and directionless after doing this, you can get your account back for up to 30 days after the fact. But if it ever gets too much, just come back to this article and follow the steps. There’s a whole world outside of your timeline to explore.

Deactivate your Twitter account in a browser

If you’re using a computer or mobile browser, go to Twitter.com and log into your account. To deactivate:

• On the web, click on the “More” item at the bottom left of the screen. On the mobile browser, tap your profile icon.
• Select “Settings and privacy”, then “Your account”

• At the bottom of the list, tap “Deactivate your account”

• Go to the bottom of the page to find the “Deactivate” link

There will be a lot of information on the page before you get to this link, some of it is very useful. There is a full description of what will no longer be visible (your display name, @username, and your public profile), assurance that you can restore your account “for a period of time” if it was accidentally deleted or by mistake, and a way to reactivate it after 30 days or 12 months (useful if you’re under siege and want to take a vacation on Twitter rather than completely deleting your account).

There are also links if you just want to change your name, use your current name with a different account, or download your Twitter data. The latter is always a good idea before deleting an account; here is the link.

Deactivate your Twitter account in the Twitter app

If you’re using a smartphone, go to the Twitter app and make sure you’re signed in.

• Tap the three-line hamburger icon in the top left corner. A menu will appear on the side. Tap “Settings & Privacy” at the bottom.
• Tap “Account” at the top. In the account settings page, select “Deactivate your account” at the bottom

A few points to note:

• To reiterate: your account will not disappear permanently after this process. Twitter keeps your information for 30 days before deleting it permanently. To restore your account, simply log back in.
• If you plan to create a new Twitter account with the same username and email address as the account you are deactivating, change the current account to a different username and email address before deactivating.
• If you want to download your Twitter data, please do so before deactivation. Twitter cannot send data from inactive accounts.
• Google and other search engines cache results, which means your old profile and tweets may still appear in response to search queries on occasion. However, anyone who clicks on it will receive an error message.

Deactivating your account can be a problem, but to Twitter’s credit, it’s much easier than the process of removing some other services, such as Uber and Lyft.

But where am I going to get my news and memes now?

So Twitter is part of your life. Congratulations! But what will you do now that you don’t have an endless barrage of tweets to go through? Here are some other things to try with your new free time.

• Mastodon. Mastodon is a decentralized version of Twitter, which journalists have called “Twitter without Nazis”. Rather than a giant hot mess of a website, you log into different “instances” of Mastodon, which are communities with varying purposes and themes. Instead of tweets, you post “toots”, and they have a limit of 500 characters. There is also a built-in content warning function.
• Reddit. There are definitely some toxic places on Reddit, but unlike Twitter, you don’t have to pay attention to them. You can follow and subscribe to subreddits on anything that interests you, from Star Trek at Furbies. Each subreddit has a clear set of rules, and they are generally enforced. And if you’ve had enough of a subreddit, you can quit it without leaving the website.
• Tumblr. Tumblr is similar to Twitter in many ways, but it has a few key differences. On the one hand, the number of subscribers is not public, so some members are not privileged over others in discussions or debates due to the size of their audience. Replies to other users ‘posts don’t appear on your feed, so you don’t have to watch other users’ arguments evolve. And there is no character limit, so you can add nuance to the opinions you post.
• Facebook. Yes, there are a lot of horrible, terrible, not good, very bad things about Facebook. But if you miss the option to follow your family and friends on Twitter, you can also do so on Facebook. You won’t be constrained by the character limit, and you won’t have to worry about anyone outside of your friends list seeing your content.
• Newspapers. It might shock you, but many media companies still sell physical newspapers and magazines. You can pick them up from newsstands, bookstores, coffee shops and even have them delivered right to your mailbox if you purchase a subscription. Rather than being bombarded all day, you will get your news in a digestible morsel each morning. The best part: you will look cool and sophisticated to everyone around you.
• Just go to The edge. Do not worry. We are always there for you.

Update January 14, 2021, 1:45 p.m. ET: This article was originally published on February 25, 2020 and has been updated to reflect interface changes.