How to delete a Twitter account

The Twitter logo is on a screen in front of another screen with the official Twitter account on it.
(Image credit: Getty Imges)

If you’ve decided it's time for you to leave Twitter, here’s how to delete a Twitter account.

Twitter can be a great way to connect with others, post your opinions, and see what people think about today’s “trending” topics. It can be useful for keeping up with the latest news, too. But let’s be honest — out of all the social networks, Twitter is probably the most distracting. It certainly seems to gobble up a lot of our free time. Plus it can be annoying to scroll past all the ads and to have to deal with trolls, attention seekers and other annoying types. 

Some, arguably, will be interested in leaving per Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, due to concerns over how his reign will go and what kinds of "free speech" he's going to enable; it's the kind of thing that might leave them searching for the best Twitter alternatives.

If you don’t want to use the service any more, there’s no reason to keep your account active, because that means Twitter will still hold personal data about you unnecessarily. The best thing you can do to stop this happening and make a clean break is delete your Twitter account.

That said, we have advice on how to mute words on Twitter, how to download videos from Twitter, how to get verified on Twitter and how to disable the new Twitter font. And from those four popular guides, it's not hard to see how and why people may feel a need to exit "the bird app."

Before you go any further, though, make sure that deleting your Twitter account is what you really want to do. It means your whole profile, all your tweets, and all your messages will be permanently gone. If you’re sure this is what you want, follow the steps below.

Here’s one important thing to note — if you’d like to be able to use your current username on a new Twitter account, make sure to change the username of your current account before it is deleted, otherwise you’ll be locked out of using it.

How to delete a Twitter account 

1. Open Twitter and log into your account if you haven’t already.

2. On the left-hand side of the screen, select “More” and then “Settings and privacy.”

How to delete your Twitter account - Settings and Privacy

(Image credit: Future)

3. On the “Your Account” tab, select “Deactivate your account.” 

How to delete a Twitter account - account deactivation menu

(Image credit: Future)

4. Read the account deletion information, then select “Deactivate your account.”

How to delete a Twitter account - Deactivate selected

(Image credit: Future)

5. Enter your password in the box that appears and select “Deactivate.” 

How to delete a Twitter account - password entry box and deactivate button

(Image credit: Future)

6. Your account will now be deactivated. If you change your mind about deleting your Twitter account, you’ll have 30 days to log back into your account to stop it being permanently deleted.

If you've got interest in just unplugging from all sorts of sites, we have you covered. Here's how to delete an Instagram account to leave one of Meta's popular services, and how to cancel Audible to stop it from re-billing you.

How to delete a Pinterest account may come in handy if you've found another way to make and curate mood boards. And you may want to know how to delete a TikTok account if you find that app too addictive.

Folks who want to know how to delete a Microsoft account? Well, we're guessing they're just trying to start over.

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Millie Davis-Williams

Millie is a Deals writer at Tom's Guide specializing in deals content. She also covers the latest tech news and and creates how-to articles about everything from phones, streaming devices, and headphones to apps and video games. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gaming on her Nintendo Switch and creating digital art.