How to Delete Twitter on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

For the better part of the last decade, Twitter has become a global phenomenon, giving everyone a way to follow and interact with pretty much whoever they want to. However, much more recently, there’s been a bit of a downturn as the company seems to be much more volatile with features being added and removed constantly.

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As the changes have started being implemented, there have been an increasing number of users who have decided to delete Twitter. Considering how useful, helpful, and fun the social media platform once was, it’s a bit disappointing to see it come to this. However, if you’re ready to give up Twitter in favor of something like Mastodon or another social media platform, we’ll take you the steps to delete Twitter on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Save Your Twitter Account History

If you know that you aren’t planning to reactivate your Twitter account within the 30-day grace period, the social media network allows you to download a copy of your Twitter data. This is available from the Settings panel within either the Twitter mobile app or the web client in a browser.

By downloading “an archive of your data,” you are essentially requesting a ZIP file that contains the following:

• Account information
• Account history
• Apps and devices
• Account activity
• Interests
• Ads data

Notably, the “Account history” portion of the file includes a history of your tweets, including the very first tweet you ever sent. If you’re sentimental, you might want to consider downloading this before deciding whether to delete your Twitter account altogether. If you return to the platform at some point in time, none of this will be available with the new account.

How to Delete Twitter on iPhone and iPad

Once you have downloaded and saved the archive of your Twitter account, you can proceed with “deleting” your account. However, there’s no button to magically and automatically delete your account altogether, as it will go into a “holding stage”.

1. Open the Twitter app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap your profile picture in the top left corner.
3. In the bottom of the pop-out drawer, tap Settings & Support.
4. From the drop-down menu, tap Settings and privacy.
5. Tap Your account.
6. Tap Deactivate Account.
7. Read through the warning information.
8. Tap the Deactivate button at the bottom.
9. Enter your Twitter password.
10. Tap the Deactivate button in the bottom right corner.

Essentially, you’ll be deactivating your account, which gives you the opportunity to go back to the social media platform if you change your mind. From the time that you click the Deactivate button in the steps above, there’s a countdown of sorts. You have 30 days to change your mind, as you’ll be able to go back, enter your password, and reactivate your account. However, after the 30 days have come to an end, your account (including your Twitter handle) will be removed from the platform for good.

How to Delete Twitter on Mac

All of the same rules apply if you want to delete Twitter on Mac, but instead of using the Mac App, you’ll need to log into the web client from your browser. From there, just follow the steps below to deactivate your Twitter account:

1. Open your browser of choice on your Mac.
2. Navigate to twitter.com.
3. If necessary, sign into your Twitter account.
4. In the left sidebar, click the More button.
5. From the drop-down menu, click Settings and Support.
6. Click Settings and privacy.
7. Make sure the Your account option is selected.
8. Click the Deactivate your account button.
9. Read through the warning information.
10. Click the Deactivate button.
11. When prompted, enter your Twitter password.
12. Click the Deactivate button.

It’s rather unfortunate that you can’t just delete Twitter outright without waiting for the 30-day grace period to come to a close. But on the other side of the coin, if you decide that you want to keep your account, it’s nice knowing that you won’t lose your Twitter handle, especially if you were one of the first people to start using the social media platform.