Twitter To Start Repossessing Inactive Accounts Next Month

(via Sara Kurfeß/Pixabay)

Lazy Twitter users, beware: Starting Dec. 11, the microblogging service will shutter inactive accounts and release those usernames back into the wild.

Any account that has not been signed into for more than six months will receive an email alert.

“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,” a spokesperson told Geek in an email.

Part of this effort is encouraging people to log in and use Twitter—as stated in the company’s inactive accounts policy.

“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 statement said.

Dormant users can expect an email urging them to “log in and follow the on-screen prompts before Dec. 11, 2019.” Otherwise their account will be removed and thrown into a grab bag of names for Hunger Games-style selection.

BBC reporter Dave Lee first noted the change on Tuesday.

More on Twitter's action on inactive accounts: The company is clawing back accounts that have been inactive for more than *six months*, which is likely a very large number. Inactive = user hasn't *logged in*. Seeking clarification on what happens to useful/fun bot accounts.

— Dave Lee (@DaveLeeBBC) November 26, 2019

“Can someone please log into @bigbenclock_,” he asked, in an effort to save the fun bot, which hasn’t bonged in more than a year.

It’s unclear when the social network will release repossessed usernames to the wild; account removal “will happen over many months—not just on a single day,” Twitter told The Verge.

This process, however, has implications beyond abandoned users: For instance, what will happen to the tweets of the deceased?

“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,” the spokesperson said in a vague statement.

You can, of course, log in on behalf of a departed family member or friend—assuming they left a password in their will.

As The Verge pointed out, accounts don’t actually have to tweet anything; they simply need someone to log in and agree to the current terms, privacy policy, and cookie use.

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