Last November, Twitter sent out emails to inactive users with a warning that if they do not log in by Dec. 11, Wednesday, their accounts will be permanently deleted, and their handles will be up for grabs again.
The Reason Behind the Twitter Account Deletion
In early December, the social media giant stated that they had begun proactively reaching out to accounts that have not logged into the site in the past six months.
In an email sent to The Verge, one spokesperson said that the Twitter inactive account purge is part of their corporate effort 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."
See also: Twitter Deleting Dormant Accounts in December
The news did not bode well for users with deceased loved ones. For them, looking back at their dead loved one's Twitter profile is one way to keep their memory alive. Unlike Facebook, the platform does not offer an option to memorialize an account.
How to Memorialize a Twitter Account
Following the backlash, the company's support account tweeted an apology, saying they will give users ample time to memorialize Twitter accounts of the deceased.
"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."
There is no exact date yet on when the update will be rolled out. So if you're looking for a way to memorialize your loved one's Twitter account, you will have to wait until the update is released.
In the meantime, here's what you can do to keep your loved one's Twitter archive:
If you have the login details of your deceased loved one, you can easily download and view their Twitter archive. Simply follow these steps:
1. Go to your Account settings by clicking on the More icon in the navigation bar and selecting Settings and privacy from the menu.
2. Under the Account section, click Your Twitter data.
3. Enter your password under Download your Twitter data, then click Confirm.
4. Click the Request data button. If your Twitter account is connected to Periscope, you'll have the option to Request data from Periscope as well.
5. When your download is ready, we'll send an email to your connected email account. From your settings, you can click the Download data button under the Download data section.
6. Once you receive the email, click the Download button while logged in to your Twitter account and download a .zip file of your Twitter archive.
Source: Twitter
Another Way to Archive Twitter Accounts
Jason Scott, a digital preservationist and curator for the Internet Archive, offered to help users by creating The Twittering Dead project. According to him, all users should send a request through Google form, and their team will do their best to archive the accounts.
For now, your deceased family member's inactive account is safe from the purge, so there's pretty much no reason to panic. We will update this article once the company releases an update on how to finally memorialize Twitter accounts.
