After President-elect Donald Trump named billionaire Elon Musk to head a new Department of Government Efficiency, many users have been departing from X, previously known as Twitter.

Notable figures like Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Lemon have announced they are leaving the platform owned by Musk. Meanwhile, Bluesky, a platform developed by Twitter’s co-founder Jack Dorsey, saw a spike of 2.5 million new users in just a week.

Considering quitting X too? Follow these steps to permanently get rid of your X account.

Steps to delete your Twitter account

Deleting your X account isn’t a straightforward task. Initially, you’ll need to deactivate your account, which keeps it in X’s records, but removes your username, display name, and public profile. You can recover your account within 30 days. Some of your tweets may still be accessible through search engines like Google, but attempting to view them on X will result in an error page, as stated by the platform.

Here are the steps for permanently deleting your X account:

1. Deactivate your account: Click on the “More” option (a circle with three dots) on the left side. Then go to “Settings and privacy,” select “Your account,” and choose “Deactivate account.” Confirm your choice by clicking the red “Deactivate” button at the screen’s bottom.
2. Wait for 30 days: You will have a month to reactivate your account if you change your mind.
3. Permanently delete your account: After the 30-day deactivation period, your X account will be automatically deleted.

If you’d like to keep a record of your account data before you deactivate and delete your account, you can request an archive in ZIP format from the “Your account” section, located above the “Deactivate your account” option. It may take a day or two for you to receive your data from X.

How to clear your Twitter account

There isn’t a way to delete all your tweets in one go on X, but there are some alternatives. Certain third-party tools can help you delete multiple tweets either for free or through a subscription, like TweetDelete, TweetDeleter, and Circleboom. Keep in mind that you can only delete your most recent 3,200 tweets, which is the maximum shown on the platform. If you have more tweets than that, you might need to delete them in batches.

If you prefer a manual method, you can delete tweets one by one. Here’s how to do it:

1. Navigate to your profile.
2. Locate the tweet you wish to remove.
3. Tap the three dots in the upper right corner of that tweet.
4. Select the red “Delete” option.

Can I reuse my email after deactivating my Twitter account?

You won’t be able to use the same email address or username for a new X account during the entire 30-day deactivation period. Once this period concludes, X states that their support team can remove email addresses from their system.