After backtracking on its plans to start shutting down inactive accounts, Twitter is now actively working on a new way for people to memorialize accounts.
Earlier this week reports surfaced detailing Twitter’s plans to shut down “inactive accounts,” the definition of which being those that hadn’t logged in for over 6 months. Owners of these accounts started receiving emails to log in until the 11th of December, or else. Due to outcry from users, however, Twitter has now said it “will not be removing any inactive accounts” until it has created a way for people to memorialize the accounts of the deceased.
How memorialized accounts will work on the platform is anyone’s guess at this point, but I would imagine we’ll be hearing about it soon.
Initially, to “respond and clarify,” Twitter explained that there’s always been an inactive account policy, but it’s never been enforced consistently. The company also explained that the deletion of inactive accounts would have begun in the EU (in part due to regulations like GDPR).
Then, it started backtracking on its initial plans altogether, explaining,
“We’ve heard you on the impact that this would have on the accounts of the deceased. This was a miss on our part. We will not be removing any inactive accounts until we create a new way for people to memorialize accounts.”
We’ve heard you on the impact that this would have on the accounts of the deceased. This was a miss on our part. We will not be removing any inactive accounts until we create a new way for people to memorialize accounts.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 27, 2019
Finally, Twitter also explained that it may “broaden” the enforcement of its inactivity policy in the near future in order to comply with other regulations like GDPR around the world, in order to “ensure the integrity of the service.”
When that happens, users will hear about it. Until then, all accounts – active or inactive – will be safe.
You might also like
More from Twitter
Audio Tweets Are Now A Reality For iOS Users
Twitter is debuting a new feature that lets iOS users record audio snippets up to 140 seconds, and share them …
Twitter Is Testing Emoji Reactions Again
Twitter has restarted work on a new feature that would let users react to tweets with Emoji. The first time …
Twitter Says You Should Read An Article Before Tweeting It
Twitter is testing out a new feature for Android users that prompts them to read an article before tweeting it, …
Encouraged By First Results, Twitter Brings Fleets To India
After launching Fleets - its own Stories format - in Brazil and Italy, Twitter has now announced the feature's rollout …
Twitter To Relaunch Verification With Clear Guidelines
Twitter will reportedly relaunch verification with a new system allowing users to request a verified profile based on a clear …
K-Pop Fans Take Over #whitelivesmatter To Drown Out Racist Posts
K-Pop fans are showing their formidable social media power to drown out potential racist posts using the hashtag #whitelivesmatter on …
You Can Now Schedule Tweets Natively
Again no edit button, but Twitter has quietly rolled out the ability to schedule tweets natively from its web app. Bad …
Twitter Tests New Way To Restrict Who Takes Part In Your Conversations
Twitter is testing a new feature that lets you limit who can reply in public conversations, allowing everyone else to …
Watch MJ’s Last Game As A Chicago Bull On Twitter
Gatorade has teamed up with the National Basketball Association to live stream MJ's latest game with the Chicago Bulls in …
