Elon Musk Announces Twitter Purge of Inactive Accounts

On Monday, Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced that Twitter is removing inactive accounts, which means that users who haven't logged in for several years will lose their followers.

We're purging accounts that have had no activity at all for several years, so you will probably see follower count drop

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 8, 2023

Elon Musk, the most-followed person on Twitter with over 138 million followers, has been vocal about his plans to improve the platform. Last month, Twitter removed the legacy verified blue tick from thousands of profiles, including celebrities, journalists, and politicians, and only restored it for free for those with over 1 million followers.

Earlier in April, Musk made account verification a part of paid Twitter Blue subscription, which he believes will address the problem of bot accounts on the platform.

Twitter's move to delete inactive accounts is a welcome step as it will help improve follower counts' accuracy and reduce the number of spam accounts on the platform.

Many users welcomed the Twitter purge. However, some also expressed concern about losing memories of deceased relatives and urged Musk to find a way to preserve them.

Say goodbye to the dead weight! Twitter's purge of inactive accounts means more engaged users and higher visibility for your brand. Time to shine! https://t.co/gppk1HMX5O

— Carlos Gil (@carlosgil83) May 8, 2023

Please do not purge my dead son's Twitter account @CyleVanKomen it has significant meaning to me. I have not figured out his password to login and save his account. Thank you.

— JJ VanKomen (@jjvank) May 9, 2023

the account purge is making me sick like dead friends and relatives all their tweets and dms just gone like i literally cant have that

— |Sage| ~ Sea Sick (@MissMinHolly) May 9, 2023

Purge the bots, not dead people https://t.co/DKxZ39MAAB

— dan goodwin (@danielgood1) May 8, 2023

However, Musk has clarified to a user that dead celebrities' accounts won't be purged. However, it remains to be seen what happens to non-celebrities accounts.

NEWS: Twitter will not remove accounts of celebrities who have passed away as they purge inactive accounts pic.twitter.com/06uoHu2u6n

— T(w)itter Daily News  (@TitterDaily) May 8, 2023

As per the purging of inactive accounts is concerned, this move includes celebrities' and non-celebrities accounts.

All accounts will be archived.

This includes both celebrity and non-celebrity accounts. https://t.co/p7MdtFVpf0

— T(w)itter Daily News  (@TitterDaily) May 8, 2023