I had not thought of this angle, I admit. I love twitter for all it’s crazy humanity, and hope they find a way to incorporate empathy here. https://t.co/dIEkjpLWk8
— Nabeel Hyatt (@nabeel) November 27, 2019
We apologize for the confusion and concerns we caused and will keep you posted.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 27, 2019
A big part of this news is that deceased folks with great legacies on the platform likely will be purged (i.e. @carr2n)
— John Colucci (@johncolucci) November 27, 2019
“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." -Twitter ⁉️ https://t.co/bHsUjuihUl
We’ve heard you on the impact that this would have on the accounts of the deceased. This was a miss on our part. We will not be removing any inactive accounts until we create a new way for people to memorialize accounts.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 27, 2019
It's funny how for years the critique of Twitter was that they spent all their time "thinking through" problems instead of fixing them—and now they're trying to fix them but everyone is rightly pointing out that the fixes have not been thought through. https://t.co/3pHMV6JLXI
— Will Oremus (@WillOremus) November 27, 2019
This impacts accounts in the EU only, for now. We’ve always had an inactive account policy but we haven’t enforced it consistently. We’re starting with the EU in part due to local privacy regulations (eg, GDPR).
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 27, 2019
Beyond complying with GDPR, we may broaden the enforcement of our inactivity policy in the future to comply with other regulations around the world and to ensure the integrity of the service. We will communicate with all of you if we do.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 27, 2019
As they currently stand the twitter purge rules will mean the removal of dead loved ones’ twitter accounts if you’re unable to log in. Sadly the internet archive has to step in here. Hoping twitter takes a beat or two to think about a memorial option. https://t.co/PrCEp10qkv
— Matthew Panzarino (@panzer) November 27, 2019
Just don't come for @flawless. https://t.co/AqlEOG3XLG https://t.co/4rhnF0kvrC
— WIRED (@WIRED) November 27, 2019
Not an article for @flawless LOL https://t.co/e9BKrnP5Ei via @wired
— K. (@melanin_maven) November 27, 2019
.@brbarrett talked to @flawless, who is responsible for the only good tweet on here in the last 12 years https://t.co/2xgxGNEyYW
— Caitlin Kelly (@caitlin__kelly) November 27, 2019
“Just let it be known I’m a Selena Gomez fan!” (fwiw I’m an @brbarrett fan) https://t.co/clFHCyLXMG
— Lily Hay Newman (@lilyhnewman) November 27, 2019
It's funny how for years the critique of Twitter was that they spent all their time "thinking through" problems instead of fixing them—and now they're trying to fix them but everyone is rightly pointing out that the fixes have not been thought through. https://t.co/3pHMV6JLXI
— Will Oremus (@WillOremus) November 27, 2019
Dear @Jack,https://t.co/azFp0mJR4y
— drew olanoff (@yoda) November 27, 2019
“...Just because someone’s pulse no longer beats doesn’t mean their thoughts no longer matter.”
— Matt Graves (@mgrooves) November 27, 2019
This is an extremely moving post by @yoda. Twitter shouldn’t play Thanos with the accounts of people who have passed on.https://t.co/Z9Uan5Qm1m
This is a beautiful, touching story by @yoda about how social media accounts can work as a sort of time capsule to remember loved ones who have passed on. And why platforms should help protect those memories. https://t.co/P7NclAbGnH
— Paolo Zialcita (@paolozialcita) November 27, 2019
You can take my Dad’s tweets over my dead body – TechCrunch https://t.co/eWOowPKcpS @yoda :(
— Fida Chaaban (@fida) November 27, 2019
"Unfortunately, my father’s page was deactivated and deleted without my having been consulted. By the time I realized it was gone, Facebook told me there was nothing it could do. It was really traumatizing…" https://t.co/xl0R557FPC
— Martin Geddes (@martingeddes) November 27, 2019
Twitter announced its plans to reclaim inactive accounts, including those of the dead, upsetting mourners who want to preserve the tweets of their loves ones https://t.co/9Dlnzy5ZeW
— Tamara Kneese (@tamigraph) November 27, 2019
Also: Dear tech companies, please stop updating your policies until I finish this book xoxo
Twitter has got to preserve dead users’ accounts! This beautiful post by @yoda about his dad explains why. My mother in law is another example. https://t.co/xv9hTYC0Of
— Marshall Kirkpatrick (@marshallk) November 27, 2019
Hadn’t thought of this: Deleting inactive Twitter accounts will also be deleting words of loved ones who have died. https://t.co/Pc8xsBmhjd
— Molly Beck (@MollyBeck) November 27, 2019
You can take my Dad's tweets over my dead body https://t.co/FcnoCdArnn via @techcrunch
— Dan Primack (@danprimack) November 27, 2019
Excellent point by @yoda - every service like Twitter should have an option to memorialize an account.
— Richard Hay (@WinObs) November 27, 2019
You can take my Dad’s tweets over my dead body | TechCrunchhttps://t.co/IeKhJ7lMce pic.twitter.com/4TKoGq7q69
Twitter needs a way to memorialize dead users. I mean, if it’s around long enough, that will eventually include all of us. https://t.co/W5rIRG5G9M
— Harry McCracken (@harrymccracken) November 27, 2019
Can someone please log-in to @bigbenclock_
— Dave Lee (@DaveLeeBBC) November 26, 2019
burner account name hunting szn starts soon https://t.co/xnN8IBMMrY
— marshmello (@marshmellomusic) November 27, 2019
When the PM is given a really aggressive MAU number to hit for the month https://t.co/4DNZb5Pkxx
— Giordano Bruno Contestabile (@giordanobc) November 26, 2019
Having been really awfully burnt by how Twitter handles the cases of users who died, this doesn’t surprise me. https://t.co/OsEk0DUyaQ
— stacy-marie ishmael (@s_m_i) November 26, 2019
They need to make a big deal about this - I’ve been saying this forever - this could be a huge user growth play. https://t.co/Fr61a1t3X3
— Alexander Taub (@ajt) November 26, 2019
this is gonna sweep a lot of dormant accounts spammers and bot/sock puppet controllers have purchased and been holding for future deployment. i am generally ok with this. https://t.co/sKAYhFwBYX
— EricaJoy (@EricaJoy) November 26, 2019
In response to @twitter announcing plans to delete inactive accounts and make the handles available for others to use, the @internetarchive is offering help with archiving the accounts of deceased persons for family members/loved ones. https://t.co/1avP6xGi3k
— Kim Zetter (@KimZetter) November 26, 2019
Could do with culling most of the active ones too https://t.co/fYYoXMuVui
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsEG) November 26, 2019
100% unrelated to and having nothing to do with @davegoldberg’s account, please, please, please don’t delete @Fakechamath ! https://t.co/NqAtXXOgtw
— Bill Gurley (@bgurley) November 27, 2019
Say bye-bye to some of that follower count... https://t.co/OooxVFIrs6
— Joe Crann (@YesWeCrann) November 26, 2019
OH HELL YEAH FINALLY @bigpenis WILL BE MINE https://t.co/GardmGDDLf
— Katie Notopoulos (@katienotopoulos) November 26, 2019
Hi @Twitter, please consider the possibility of memorialising accounts. I often refer back to my late partners tweets as a reminder of Dean’s thoughts & feelings & the memories we’ve shared. Don’t remove accounts before sorting this, please. https://t.co/qd6TYW9Ode
— Adam (@adamadzp) November 26, 2019
I asked Twitter if accounts of deceased people will be removed for inactivity:
— Chris Welch (@chriswelch) November 26, 2019
"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.”https://t.co/A8sKD7eaIo
Here's some more info on the Twitter user cull. As it stands, every person who has had Twitter and died more than six months ago will be deleted from the site - UNLESS someone already has their log-in details. https://t.co/jupCD04m5D
— Dave Lee (@DaveLeeBBC) November 26, 2019
This is going to be vile, because it means that transphobes will register the handles of people they killed through harassment campaigns, in order to harass and harm the survivors. :( https://t.co/73kJvTAjRh
— Liz Fong-Jones (方禮真) (@lizthegrey) November 26, 2019
betting i "lose" 50% of my follower count from this. anyone who has been on twitter 10+ years has a high % of inactive/dormant followers. Will be great to get a sense of what the real, active community looks like... https://t.co/kTGh8j3gwJ
— ???☕️ (@hunterwalk) November 27, 2019
Does that include @rupertmurdoch https://t.co/zo97LHEPgd
— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) November 26, 2019
Hey yo @twitter @TwitterSupport this isn't cool.
— James Fuller (@Jimminy) November 26, 2019
I still visit several deceased friends twitter feeds and this is poorly thought out bullshit. These individuals cannot consent or act in a manner to prevent your removal. https://t.co/m6WIc2I1QF
Six months? That's a bit aggressive.
— EastCoastMTBer ? (@EastCoastMTBer) November 26, 2019
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
This is like Twitter musical chairs. All the old inactive accounts will be flushed out and then immediately all the good handles will be snatched up by different scalpers to be sat on forever until the next big cleanup. https://t.co/5hKt9Y2w4P
— Benjamin Mayo (@bzamayo) November 26, 2019
Twitter spokesperson says "account removal will happen over many months — not just on a single day.”
— Chris Welch (@chriswelch) November 26, 2019
So don’t expect a huge username rush on December 12th. https://t.co/JGfFJo14Qn
Omg! Does this mean I can get raisetheroof back? (Yes I gave that up oops) https://t.co/rG5GXVYXW7
— Katie Roof (@Katie_Roof) November 27, 2019
What about accounts that fell inactive because users were killed, threatened or otherwise unable to continue after posting updates on Syria’s war? How much evidence would we lose? https://t.co/NhAqjQI2oI
— Louisa Loveluck (@leloveluck) November 27, 2019
So long to my account that tweets once a year when Haruki Murakami doesn’t win the Nobel Prize, we went viral once and were popular with Mexican art students https://t.co/Vnz0tGOqjx
— November Alan (@alan_maguire) November 27, 2019
If you’ve been eyeing a dormant username on @Twitter for a while now, you’ll soon get a chance to grab it! Twitter will start deleting inactive accounts in December.https://t.co/EMQG6gDxXg
— Tech2 (@tech2eets) November 27, 2019
Twitter is about to delete inactive accounts. Here's how to keep yours https://t.co/0uFPItqyHL via @DigitalTrends
— เฟยฯ (@fueianna) November 27, 2019
Twitter says accounts left inactive for more than six months will be deactivated—including tweets from deceased users.https://t.co/CEraYPveip
— VICE (@VICE) November 27, 2019
If you care about follow count expect to lose some next month. I know there’s many inactive accounts that follow me, at the end of the day I’m just happy to be here ? #TwitterPurge https://t.co/kVcSDsaug9
— Shane ⚡️ VapeTheBud (@VapeTheBud) November 27, 2019
Twitter to delete inactive accounts on December 11 to free up usernames #Twitter https://t.co/c86QfEwOee pic.twitter.com/QC3nV1NQBu
— Neowin (@NeowinFeed) November 26, 2019
What will you do about Hal Finney's account?https://t.co/yxYDJcYR2d
— Tim Copeland (@Timccopeland) November 27, 2019
There's an Internet Archive project to try to preserve your loved ones' tweets before Twitter deletes accounts. See details to sign up?https://t.co/srmDOwrJoh
— Genevieve Adeline (@Book_Folk) November 27, 2019
While Twitter is set to begin removing inactive accounts, @textfiles The Twittering Dead project aims to preserve tweets of the deceased https://t.co/eY3pCcDGp8 via @Verge
— Maxine Fisher (@xamfi) November 27, 2019
This might be your best chance to preserve tweets from deceased loved ones https://t.co/CyTYgpgB9X pic.twitter.com/2Q3q1BCUbo
— The Verge (@verge) November 27, 2019
This might be your best chance to preserve tweets from deceased loved ones: #BigData #MachineLearning #AI #IoT MT @mikequindazzi https://t.co/2OmLs6xl9g pic.twitter.com/ryMmwc6jfA
— Alison Oliver (@alison_iot) November 27, 2019
For those who need to know: This might be your best chance to preserve tweets from deceased loved ones https://t.co/BMhD8z4UC8 #TwitterMemorial
— Ruby of the #BaublesToAdvent2019 (@RubiesB4Swine) November 27, 2019
A Flawless Twitter Dunk 12 Years in the Making https://t.co/iewpEYAWPk #tech #entrepreneur #digital #wired
— Sam Khoury (@Skhoury910) November 28, 2019
Twitter is clarifying that it initially intends changes to inactive Twitter accounts only for the European Union, and it won’t roll out the inactive account enforcement broadly until it figures out how to memorialize account. More details: https://t.co/Lpg3PI39lR https://t.co/7DriWbgFE2
— WIRED (@WIRED) November 27, 2019
This is a beautiful, heart-wrenching piece by @yoda about his late father's Twitter account getting deleted in Twitter's effort to reclaim accounts. I am absolutely baffled by the fact that @Twitter doesn't have a way to memorialize an account. https://t.co/LvYL4p8lfG
— julia ferraioli (@juliaferraioli) November 27, 2019
You can take my Dad’s tweets over my dead body https://t.co/LHhOQddndd pic.twitter.com/zBHkJGpD6l
— Rich Tehrani (@rtehrani) November 27, 2019
You can take my Dad's tweets over my dead body - TechCrunch https://t.co/jhAyvkr0Hu
— Evan Kirstel (@evankirstel) November 27, 2019
You can take my Dad’s tweets over my dead body @yoda ? https://t.co/YnZVsXRD02
— Kim Fox (@kimfox) November 28, 2019
My dad would never have been on Twitter. But @yoda’s Dad was; his words shouldn’t be lost. “Big tech companies are good at a lot of things, but what they seem to lack is collective empathy and heart.” Pls prove us wrong, @jack @twitter
— Kathy Flaherty (@ConnConnection) November 28, 2019
https://t.co/tig5GrBnCg
If you haven't read it yet, you should check out this beautiful piece by @yoda about his late father's tweets: https://t.co/jC9NTsntYT
— Peter Sterne (@petersterne) November 27, 2019
I feel the same way about my own deceased dad's twitter account.
Twitter says accounts left inactive for more than six months will be deactivated—including tweets from deceased users. https://t.co/pD6eG7pSAo
— VICE (@VICE) November 28, 2019
Motherboard A Vague Twitter Policy About Deactivating Inactive Accounts Sparked a Panic: Twitter says accounts left inactive for more than six months will be deactivated—including tweets from deceased users. https://t.co/x4mNSII957 #Twitter Via @motherboard pic.twitter.com/05Is8MydyQ
— Bradley Jon Eaglefeather (@bjeaglefeather) November 28, 2019
Good to know, will update.https://t.co/yxYDJcYR2d
— Tim Copeland (@Timccopeland) November 27, 2019
This might be your best chance to preserve tweets from deceased loved ones https://t.co/7dDFyF5bCY
— Evan Kirstel (@evankirstel) November 27, 2019
This might be your best chance to preserve tweets from deceased loved ones https://t.co/WoHe1SCvGK
— the okayest boomer ? (@TatMum_Blog) November 27, 2019
“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." Maybe the time to think about that @Twitter is BEFORE you start deleting accounts. https://t.co/FYdPmdmG4I
— Rachel Lovinger (@rlovinger) November 27, 2019