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How to delete an old Twitter account you cannot access?

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With so many social media sites around, there come several accounts and with them come a bunch of passwords you’re going to have to remember. And that can become a problem rather quickly. 

Passwords are already becoming a mounting challenge to solve for the Internet, with them getting leaked just about every day. However, remembering passwords is a challenge, leading users to make new accounts often if they get locked out of their old ones.

With one user having several accounts, getting rid of the old ones is a problem. They sit around inactive on the platform, taking up usernames which someone else might’ve used. In this article, we’re talking about how you can delete an old Twitter account you cannot access.

Also read: How to see what’s trending on Twitter?


How to delete old Twitter accounts?

Even if you’ve forgotten the password to your old Twitter account, if you can prove ownership of the account, Twitter can delete it for you, hence avoiding the whole ghost account problem. This goes two ways:

  • Request access to your old account.
  • Request Twitter to delete or deactivate your old account.

The process for both of them is somewhat similar as well. Here’s what you need to do.

Step 1: Head over to this page on the Twitter Help Center. Under the first question, How can we help with your account, select whether you want to delete your account or regain access. We’ll go with I’d like to deactivate or close my account.

How to delete an old Twitter account you cannot access?

Step 2: The next question will have several other options for you. We’re going to choose I don’t have access to the email address or mobile number associated with my account.

How to delete an old Twitter account you cannot access?

Step 3: After this, several other fields will show up asking for your username, an email account you have access to and any additional information you’d like to include. You’ll also be asked whether this is a personal or company account. 

How to delete an old Twitter account you cannot access?

Once you’ve included all relevant information, click Submit, and the Twitter team will get in touch with you for further action. Additionally, if you still have access to the email address or phone number you used to make your Twitter account, you can use the Password Reset page to reset your password and gain access to your account and delete it from there. 

Also read: How to tell if someone deleted their Instagram?


Twitter account deletion FAQ

Here are some things you should be mindful of when deleting your Twitter account.

Things to know before deleting Twitter account

  • Deleting your account won’t remove any associated information from search engines.
  • Mentions of your account’s username in other Tweets will still exist, but they won’t point to your profile. 
  • Logging in within 30 days from deactivating your account will reactivate it again.
  • If you need your Twitter data, you’re going to have to request it from Twitter here.

Deactivating vs Deleting Twitter account

Both these things work in tandem on Twitter. You first deactivate your account, during which your account is hidden from Twitter for 30 days. If you don’t access or recover your account within these 30 days, your account will be deleted.


If you’re deactivating your account, your public profile, username and tweets are simply hidden from the public on Twitter. You can always log in again and recover your account and all your data. 

When your account is deleted, all data associated with your account will be permanently deleted as well, including any tweets, media and your username. 

Also read: Twitter something went wrong: 4 fixes

Yadullah Abidi

Yadullah Abidi

Yadullah is a Computer Science graduate who writes/edits/shoots/codes all things cybersecurity, gaming, and tech hardware. When he's not, he streams himself racing virtual cars. He's been writing and reporting on tech and cybersecurity with websites like Candid.Technology and MakeUseOf since 2018. You can contact him here: yadullahabidi@pm.me.

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