Twitter Plans to Free Up Usernames by Deleting Inactive Accounts (UPDATE)

Twitter shared that they are removing accounts who haven't logged in for six months.

November 26, 2019

UPDATED Nov. 27, 3:40 p.m. ET: Twitter is walking back its earlier announcement that it will begin removing inactive accounts. The social media platform tweeted that the announcement was a "miss" on their part, because they failed to take "accounts of the deceased" into account.

Twitter also clarified that the new policy will only impact EU accounts to start, and that it's currently working on ways for people to "memorialize accounts.

See original story below.

In an effort to declutter their space and free up usernames that might get some use otherwise, Twitter will begin removing inactive accounts in December. The social media platform sent out an email to users who have not logged in for six months, warning that their account was in danger of being junked.

The email from Twitter read as follows:

Twitter told The Verge that the campaign is a way to encourage conversation.

“As part of our commitment to serve the public conversation, we’re working to clean up inactive accounts to present more accurate, credible information people can trust across Twitter. Part of this effort is encouraging people to actively log-in and use Twitter when they register an account, as stated in our inactive accounts policy,” a spokesperson said. “We have begun proactive outreach to many accounts who have not logged into Twitter in over six months to inform them that their accounts may be permanently removed due to prolonged inactivity.”

They added there won't be a goldrush for new account names on December 12, saying the removal “will happen over many months — not just on a single day” and clarifying that new accounts with handles of less than 5 letters won't be allowed.

The announcement of the changes comes shortly after Twitter revealed users will be able to hide replies from users who might derail a conversation.