Ever since Elon Musk purchased Twitter late last year, there have been significant changes to the platform, from reducing the workforce to the controversial blue checkmark. Now, another change is on the horizon. And, it’s not good news for users who haven’t logged into their accounts for several years.
In a tweet, Elon Musk announced that Twitter would begin purging accounts that have been inactive for several years. The announcement seems to follow Musk’s tweet last December, in which he said Twitter would start freeing up 1.5 billion accounts’ namespaces.
There is no specific date for the purging of inactive accounts. However, Musk has confirmed that many usernames will become available. One user on Twitter asked, “A lot of usernames about to become available?”. With this, Musk responded with a simple “Yes.”
However, the announcement raised concerns about what would happen to the accounts of deceased individuals who were influential in their fields. Some questioned whether Twitter would delete or purge the accounts of people who had passed away. And if so, what criteria would be used to determine their influence?
The move to purge inactive accounts will help Twitter improve its user engagement metrics. They also expect it to provide more accurate information about its user base. It remains to be seen how this change will affect the platform and its users in the long run, but for now, it’s a reminder to log into your old Twitter account if you want to keep your username.
