People are dragging Twitter's plan to delete inactive accounts to free up usernames

27 November 2019, 12:10

By Jazmin Duribe

Twitter users are worried that the inactive accounts of people that have passed away will be deleted.

Twitter has just announced plans to remove inactive accounts to free up usernames. So, if you haven't signed into your account for more than six months, you have until 11 December to do it. Inactive users will receive an email warning them that they need to sign in if they would like to keep using the social media platform.

Don't worry, if you have a less active second Twitter account you should be able to keep it. You don't actually have to tweet anything, you just have to log in and follow Twitter's instructions. However, don't be surprised if the username you want seems to be inactive. The user is probably still signing in – sorry.

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"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 told The Verge. "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."

The account removal process will take months, and there's no word yet on when the old usernames will be available. And if you're thinking of changing your Twitter username to simply "@J" think again, usernames with under five characters can no longer be registered on Twitter.

Alas, news of the Twitter clean up has been met with some criticism. There are many accounts that serve as a memorial for people that have passed away.

Twitter users are worried that it will mean they'll have nothing to remember their loved ones by.

Will Twitter memorialise the inactive accounts of the deceased?

At present, Facebook allows for accounts to be memorialised when the person passes away. Photos and posts the person shared when alive stay on Facebook and are visible to the audience it was shared with. It's a great way of remembering loved ones when they're gone.

However, Twitter doesn't have a memorialisation plan in place for the accounts of the deceased. A Twitter spokesman said: "We do not currently have a way to memorialize someone’s Twitter account once they have passed on, but the team is thinking about ways to do this."

What do you think? Do you think Twitter should find a way to memorialise accounts? Tweet us @popbuzz and let us know!