The benefits of Twitter are indisputable. A convenient way to collect your memes, world news and pop culture in one place.
But being an active Twitter user requires reviewing a daily flood of toxic characters, including QAnon, white supremacists, bots, deep crooks, and more (although you won’t find Donald Trump out there anymore). Also, the stress and anxiety that the fast pace of Twitter’s news cycle and the tension of the constantly arguing reply guys can bring is undeniable.
Listen to me on this one: you don’t actually have to use Twitter. I know it may seem like everyone is using it, but you can be the change you want to see in the world. You can only delete your account.
Don’t worry: it doesn’t have to be permanent. If you feel empty and directionless after doing this, you can get your account back up to 30 days after the event. But if it becomes too much again, come back to this article and follow the steps. There’s a whole world outside of your timeline to explore.
Disable your Twitter account in a browser
If you’re on a computer or mobile browser, go to: twitter.com and login to your account. To disable:
- On the web, click “More” in the lower left corner of the screen. Tap your profile icon in the mobile browser.
- Select “Settings & Privacy” and then “Your Account”.
- Tap “Deactivate your account” at the bottom of the list.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the “Disable” link
There will be a lot of information on the page before you reach this link, some quite helpful. There’s now a full description of what’s not viewable (your display name, @username, and public profile), assurance that you can restore your account “for a while” if it’s been accidentally or accidentally deleted, and a way to reactivate it. After 30 days or 12 months (useful if you’re besieged and want to take a vacation from Twitter instead of deleting your account entirely).
There are also links if you just want to change your name, use your current name with a different account, or download your Twitter data. This last one is always a good idea before deleting any account; here is the link.
Disable your Twitter account in the Twitter app
If you’re using a smartphone, go to the Twitter app and make sure you’re signed in.
- Tap the three-line hamburger icon in the upper left corner. A side menu will appear. Tap “Settings & privacy” at the bottom.
- Tap “Account” at the top. On the account settings page, select “Deactivate your account” at the bottom
A few things to note:
- To reiterate: Your account will not be permanently deleted after this action. Twitter stores your information for 30 days before deleting it permanently. To restore your account, simply sign in again.
- If you plan to create a new Twitter account with the same username and email address as the account you disabled, replace the existing account with a different username and email address before deactivating it.
- If you want to download your Twitter data, do this before being disabled. Twitter cannot send data from inactive accounts.
- Google and other search engines cache results; This means that your old profile and tweets may still show up in response to occasional search queries. However, anyone who clicks them gets an error message.
Deactivating your account can be a hassle, but to Twitter’s credit, it’s a lot simpler than the process of deleting some other services like Uber and Lyft.
But now where do I get my news and memes?
So Twitter is gone from your life. Congratulations! So what do you do now that you don’t have a never-ending barrage of tweets to scroll through? Here are some other things you can try with your newfound spare time.
- Mastodon. Mastodon is a decentralized version of Twitter that journalists are praising. “Twitter without the Nazis.” Instead of a huge mess of one website, you log into different “instances” of Mastodon, which are communities with different purposes and themes. You post “teeth” instead of tweets, and they have a 500-character limit. It also has a built-in content alert feature.
- reddit. There are definitely some toxic places on Reddit, but unlike Twitter, you don’t have to pay attention to them. You can follow and subscribe to subreddits about anything that interests you. Star wars with furs. Every subreddit has clear rules and they are usually enforced. And if you’re tired of a subreddit, you can leave it without leaving the website.
- tumblr. Tumblr is similar to Twitter in many ways, but with a few key differences. First, follower numbers are not public, so certain members are not privileged over others in discussions or debates because of the size of their audience. Replies to other people’s posts won’t appear in your news feed, so you don’t have to watch other users’ arguments evolve. And there are no character limits, so you can add some nuance to the views you post.
- Facebook. Yes, there is a lot of terrible, awful, not good, very bad things about Facebook. But if you miss the ability to communicate with family and friends on Twitter, you can also do it on Facebook. You won’t be restricted by the character limit and you won’t have to worry about anyone outside your friend list seeing your content.
- Newspapers. This may shock you, but many media companies still sell physical newspapers and magazines. You can get them from newsagents, bookstores, cafes and even have them delivered straight to your mailbox if you buy a subscription. Instead of being bombarded all day, you’ll get your news in a digestible chunk every morning. The best part: You’ll look cool and sophisticated to everyone around you.
- just go Boundary. Do not worry. We are always here for you.
Update Jan 14, 2021 at 1:45 PM ET: This article was originally published on February 25, 2020 and has been updated to account for interface changes.
