Does Twitter archive deleted tweets, and can you access them?

Considering Twitter has been around for well over ten years now, it is understandable that many users feel compelled to delete old tweets.

This could be because they no longer share the the same sentiments expressed in older tweets or because they aren’t happy with the lack of interactions that said tweets received. Either way, deleting tweets is easily done.

When you delete a tweet, it is fair to assume that the tweet in question is wiped from existence. After all, there is no recycle bin on Twitter that keeps hold of deleted tweets so it’s gone forever, right? Or is there a hidden archive somewhere that retains these tweets?

In this article we are going to examine these questions, in addition to looking at how users can go about deleting tweets in an easy and swift manner. Let’s get started.

Twitter archive deleted tweets – can you access deleted tweets?

Given the amount of individuals that have been ‘cancelled’ or had their reputations tarnished due to historical tweets, keeping an eye on your old tweets and deleting anything ‘iffy’ is definitely something worth doing.

After all, ideologies and public perception on certain things are forever changing so something you’ve said ten years ago might no longer be acceptable.

For those of you who do discover that some of your old tweets haven’t aged well, you will want peace of mind that by deleting them they will inaccessible to the public.

Here comes the bad news – unless you delete your account then there will always be the opportunity for others to uncover your deleted tweets.

If you want to view all of your deleted tweets to make a decision on whether it’s worth deleting your account and starting a new one, then please follow these steps:

1. Log on to your Twitter account via a web browser.
2. Select the three dotted icon at the bottom of the menu bar on the left hand side of the screen and click ‘settings and privacy’.
3. Select the ‘your account’ tab.
4. Select ‘download an archive of your data’ and then verify it’s you requesting the information either by email or text message.
5. You will then receive a notification on Twitter when your data is ready to download.

Accessing other users deleted tweets

As you can see, it’s easy enough accessing your own personal Twitter data, including your deleted tweets, but it’s more difficult to find other users’ deleted tweets.

In fact it is entirely impossible if you are hoping to do this via the official Twitter app or website, and you will need to use a third party website instead.

One popular way of discovering deleted tweets is by using the Wayback machine, which is essentially a mass internet archive.

This website takes snapshots of webpages every day, so all you have to do is copy and paste the URL for any Twitter profile and enter in the date you want to see and the Wayback machine will bring up exactly what your profile looked like on that day.

This site works best if you have specific dates in mind, but it’s also worth a look if you are happy to to sit and flick through various different dates.

It’s a great way to find someone’s deleted tweets if you know that they didn’t delete them for a while, because there’s a good chance that they’re saved in Google’s cache.

How to delete your tweets

If after flicking through your profile you’ve decided that you do want to get rid of some tweets and banish them to the archives, then Twitter makes it incredibly easy for you to do so.

You can perform a tweet delete on the Twitter app and also on Twitter for web, by following this process:

1. Log in to your Twitter account.
2. Select your profile icon on the upper left hand side of the screen.
3. Select the tweet that you wish to delete and click the three dotted icon on the top right hand side of the tweet.
4. Select ‘delete tweets’ and then confirm your decision by clicking ‘delete’ on the subsequent pop up.
5. Your tweet will then no longer be searchable via the official Twitter app and website.

How to delete your Twitter account

If you’re uncomfortable with the knowledge that your deleted tweets are still accessible despite you deleting them, then the final step for you to make it to delete your account.

We would urge you to reconsider, especially if you have built up a large following, unless your old tweets really could land you in serious trouble.

If you decide to go ahead, then you will need to follow these steps to delete your Twitter account:

1. Log in to your Twitter account via a web browser.
2. Select the three dotted icon on the bottom of the left hand side menu bar.
3. Select ‘settings and privacy’ and then the ‘account’ tab.
4. Select ‘deactivate your account’, read the information and then click ‘deactivate again’.
5. You will then be required to enter in your password to confirm the deactivation.

All of your deleted tweets will now be gone forever, and you won’t have to worry about other Twitter users finding your deleted tweets.

Conclusion

To conclude, there is a hidden archive of deleted tweets on Twitter and it is pretty easily accessible for all users. By following the information above, you have all the tools available to you to:

• Access all of your old, deleted tweets.
• Access other users’ deleted tweets.
• Delete your tweets, and your Twitter account, to protect them from being discovered.

You can also choose to keep your tweets protected, though there are ways around viewing protected tweets too if you know what you’re doing.