What happens to a X / Twitter account when someone dies

“We give you a personal, worldwide, royalty-free, non-assignable and non-exclusive license to use the software provided to you as part of the Services. This license cannot be assigned, gifted, sold, shared or transferred in any other manner to any other individual or entity without X's express written consent.”¹

Deactivation is the only account action X's deceased-user page offers.²

X provides account access to no one, whatever their relationship to the deceased.²

After the form is submitted, X emails instructions for providing information about the deceased, a copy of the requester's ID and a copy of the death certificate. X keeps this information confidential and removes it once reviewed.²

Deactivation lasts 30 days. If the account is not accessed within that period it is deleted and the username is no longer associated with it; direct messages sent from it are deleted then too.³

X asks account holders to log in at least every 30 days and may permanently remove accounts for prolonged inactivity. X notes that it may not be possible to tell whether an account is currently inactive.⁴

Requesting an archive requires a code sent to the account's email address or phone number and a signed-in download, so no archive route is open to a survivor after death.⁵

X's only published content route is for law enforcement: requests for the contents of communications require a valid search warrant or equivalent from an agency with proper jurisdiction over X.⁶

X weighs public interest in reports about media of deceased individuals and in limited circumstances may not remove the media or limit its exposure, even on receipt of a valid report.⁷

Deactivating does not cancel a subscription bought through the X app, which is managed from the platform where it was bought; a subscription bought on X.com cancels automatically after deactivation. X directs app subscribers to Apple or Google.^{3, 8}

All payments for Paid Services are final and not refundable except as required by law, including subscriptions on accounts that are suspended or that the holder has lost access to.^{9, 8}

Under the Original Content Rewards Program Terms, no amount is paid or owed if the Minimum Payment Threshold has not been met, and amounts the Payment Processor cannot remit for circumstances beyond its control are forfeited.¹⁰

X retired Creator Revenue Sharing on September 7, 2026 and replaced it with the Original Content Rewards Program. Under both, payouts are processed every two weeks and the minimum payout is $30.^{11, 12}

U.S. payouts are made through an X Money account and payouts outside the U.S. through a Stripe payout account. Each X Money account can be connected to only one X account, and a person can have only one, keyed to their Social Security Number.¹¹

Under the X Handle Marketplace Terms, X retains ownership of a handle it transfers to a user, and that user cannot own it.¹³

Asking X to deactivate the account of a deceased or incapacitated person; it collects the requester's details, their connection to the owner, the username, the owner's full name and a free-text field.^{14, 2}

Completed by a person authorized to act for the estate, or a verified immediate family member. Completed online.

Asking X to review and remove images or videos of an identifiable person's death; it takes uploads of the death certificate and, for a legal representative, proof of representation, plus ID and selfie checks.^{15, 7}

Completed by an immediate family member or legal representative. Completed online.

Refunds and cancellations of an X subscription bought through the X app⁸