Elon Musk will deactivate 1.5 billion inactive Twitter accounts
Elon Musk and Twitter are ready for a purge. The company is targeting inactive accounts this time. Musk announced that Twitter will delete 1.5 billion accounts that have been inactive for a while. This will free up many user names. This is the latest in the line of updates Musk has announced for the microblogging platform, including an update that shows the account's status.
Why does this story matter?
Musk has been targeting fake/spam accounts ever since he took over Twitter. Now, the focus has been shifted to inactive accounts. It is something Twitter was in the process of doing earlier as well. The new announcement comes amid the release of the second part of Twitter Files. The update Musk has announced regarding account status is closely related to the new exposé.
Several user names will be freed up
Musk said, "Twitter will soon start freeing the name space of 1.5 billion accounts." It is unclear when the platform will begin the purge. In another tweet, the billionaire clarified that the accounts that will be deleted haven't had any logins or tweets "for years." This action will free up user names that have been taken up by inactive accounts.
Accounts with no tweets/logins for years will be deleted
What will happen to inactive accounts belonging to deceased people?
When Twitter deletes inactive accounts, what will happen to accounts belonging to deceased people? In 2019, Twitter had made a similar announcement regarding deleting inactive accounts. However, the company paused it when the case of accounts belonging to deceased people was pointed out. Will Musk do something to memorialize accounts whose holders are now deceased before the purge?
Twitter will soon show the true status of accounts
Musk has also announced that Twitter will be getting a new software update that will show the status of an account. The update will show users whether they have been shadowbanned or not. If yes, it will also show why they have been banned and how to appeal. This update is similar to Instagram's 'Account Status' dashboard.
