How to delete X and move on with your life | TechCrunch

As Elon Musk’s X sees a decline in day-to-day lively customers, some persons are deciding to ditch the social community fully, whether or not that’s for Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, or most likely, higher but, not anything in any respect.

For the reason that Tesla and SpaceX CEO purchased Twitter in 2022, a lot of possible choices have cropped up, in search of to ensnare people who find themselves not up to happy with Musk’s control of the platform. In some instances, that time of no go back got here when X grew to become its iconic blue checkmark right into a paid characteristic, rendering an emblem as soon as related to legitimacy right into a meaningless insignia. For others, Musk’s political affect inside the Trump management was once the general straw; or possibly that second got here even faster, when Musk reinstated the accounts of identified white supremacists, or when X made customers’ public posts visual to folks they’d blocked.

Perhaps that is all gravy, and also you’re simply looking to lower down to your display time. Truthful sufficient, and extra energy to you!

Regardless, in the event you’re looking to make X your ex, learn on.

The way to obtain your X archive

On X, you’ll obtain an archive of more than a few information related together with your account, together with your posts, uploaded media, direct messages, and your fans and following lists. Whether or not you’re making plans to delete your account or no longer, this sort of information may also be helpful to have available.

The archive comprises some information that X could have amassed about your account for advert focused on, equivalent to any pursuits or demographic identifiers that the app could have inferred about you. X and different social platforms be told this knowledge in response to what forms of posts you engage with; in the event you observe dozens {of professional} sports activities accounts, as an example, then X will wager that you simply’re a sports activities fan, and it’ll display you extra ads associated with sports activities.

Right here’s find out how to obtain this archive out of your desktop browser:

• Click on the 3 dot image at the backside of the left-hand navigation bar.
• Navigate to Settings and privateness.
• From there, you’ll be delivered to a display that claims Your Account. There, you’ll see an possibility that claims Obtain an archive of your information.
• Subsequent, X may have you enter your password as a safety precaution. While you do this, it is possible for you to to request your information.

It should take a couple of days for the app to retrieve and get ready your information, so don’t be alarmed in the event you don’t immediately obtain a .zip report. However in the event you’re making plans to deactivate or delete your account, wait till you obtain the hyperlink to obtain your archive. X can’t ship this information to an inactive account.

What else will have to I do earlier than deleting my X account?

Deleting your X account implies that no person at the web site will be capable of see your posts or your account. On the other hand, social networks don’t have any keep watch over over serps like Google, which mechanically index public posts. Which means your posts may nonetheless flip up in seek effects, even supposing the hyperlink in your put up now not exists.

If you wish to be additional wary, listed below are some steps you’ll take to attenuate the danger of your posts dwelling on:

In case your posts have by no means been public, then you definately don’t have to fret about this. However even supposing you are making a public account non-public for causes apart from eventual deletion, it’s nonetheless imaginable that what you’ve posted earlier than protective your account can survive in seek effects; serps cache posts and could have a lag in updating useless hyperlinks.

The way to delete your X account

Alas, it’s time to sign off. If deleting your account feels slightly too everlasting and intimidating, the choice offers you a grace duration of 30 days, right through which you’ll alternate your thoughts and reactivate. While you deactivate your account, your profile will now not be visual on X.

Right here’s find out how to deactivate your X account:

• For your desktop browser, click on the 3 dot image at the backside of the left-hand navigation bar.
• Navigate to Settings and privateness.
• From there, you’ll be delivered to a display that claims Your Account. On the backside of the checklist, you’ll see an strategy to Deactivate your account.
• While you click on that, you’ll be delivered to some other web page, which makes positive you in reality know what you’re doing.
• Then, click on the purple button that claims Deactivate.

In fact, X doesn’t need you to delete your account, which is why it doesn’t leap you directly to the nuclear possibility. If that breaking apart with X is a terrible mistake, X will nonetheless take you again, as long as that 30-day window hasn’t elapsed.

While you deactivate, if 30 days cross with out you logging onto X, then your account will probably be completely deleted. Congratulations: You’re loose. Now pass outdoor or one thing.

What social platform will have to you utilize as an alternative of X?

If you’ll’t shake that insatiable want to put up, then you’ll take a look at any other apps that may scratch that itch, but raise much less luggage. Listed below are some possible choices to X that may fit your fancy:

Bluesky

Bluesky is a microblogging web site constructed atop an open supply protocol. That’s a large number of jargon, however on a floor stage, which means the interior machinations of Bluesky are extra clear, and third-party builders can construct on best of the app.

For individuals who don’t agree with massive companies like Meta and Google to carry the keys to their on-line social lives, the open supply nature of Bluesky may well be interesting, since customers have extra keep watch over than they usually do when the use of an organization’s social product. On the other hand, Bluesky isn’t utopian — it’s nonetheless a tech corporate that has raised $23 million in challenge capital and must stay its buyers satisfied. However as a public get advantages company, Bluesky has some responsibility towards doing what’s absolute best for the customers (no less than, it will have to), and no longer simply its funders.

As of January 2025, Bluesky has about 30 million registered customers. Prior to Donald Trump was once elected in November 2024, the social community had simply 13 million customers, however many X customers jumped send because of frustrations with Musk’s involvement within the Trump marketing campaign. Although Bluesky was once shaped as a venture at Twitter below former CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey, the corporate now not has ties to X, and Dorsey is now not a member of its board.

Mastodon

Like Bluesky, Mastodon could also be an open supply social community, and one with an extended monitor file, working since 2016. Whilst Bluesky’s structure in large part stays below the hood — you don’t want to know what a decentralized protocol is to make use of the app — Mastodon’s setup is a little more tech-forward. For some folks (like a lot of the cybersecurity group, which has settled on Mastodon), it is a level in choose of Mastodon. However for the fewer tech-savvy, Mastodon could also be complicated. The nonprofit has taken steps to streamline the signup procedure, defaulting customers to the “mastodon.social” server as an alternative of creating folks determine which server to sign up for earlier than even the use of the platform.

As of January 2025, Mastodon has round 10 million registered customers, with nearer to at least one million lively customers, consistent with open supply information. The community has greater than doubled since October 2022, when Elon Musk formally took over Twitter.

Threads

Threads has a significant benefit on this area: It’s owned via Meta, because of this that you’ll switch over your following lists from Instagram seamlessly. Of all choices, Threads makes it highest to observe the folks you already need to observe (regardless that Bluesky and Mastodon have “Starter Packs” to lend a hand, as does Threads).

However Threads’ greatest boon could also be its deadly flaw. If persons are already bored with Meta’s ecosystem — which additionally comprises Fb and WhatsApp — then they won’t leap on the probability to offer Meta much more keep watch over over their on-line reports.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated in December 2024 that Threads has over 100 million day-to-day lively customers and 300 million per 30 days lively customers, making it a lot more in style than its competition. Although Threads had a large head get started because of its integration with Instagram, the app continues to develop.