This archive report was first published on 27 November 2019.
Twitter has announced that it will deactivate inactive accounts on December 11th, unless their owners log in before then. This move aims to free up usernames for reuse.
The microblogging and social networking service has been sending out emails to owners of inactive accounts, warning them that their accounts will be deactivated if they do not log in by December 11th.
According to Twitter, any account that has not been signed in for more than six months will receive the email alert. The move has been made necessary because users who do not log in were unable to agree to Twitter's updated privacy policies.
Twitter has not disclosed how many current accounts fit the criteria, but it is estimated to be in the many millions. To prevent their accounts from being deleted, users must log into their accounts before the deadline.
Twitter's current policy also offers deactivation of a dead person's account once a trusted third-party has proven their identity, but the account will not be granted access to prevent deletion.
