Are you tired of the chaos and toxicity on Elon Musk's X platform? Have you had enough of the juvenile humor and far-right tropes? You're not alone. Many celebrities, public figures, and ordinary people are quitting X and defecting to other social media sites. If you're considering joining the exodus, here's a step-by-step guide to help you leave X behind.

First, you'll need to deactivate your account. This will start a 30-day countdown until your account is permanently deleted. To do this, go to your settings and privacy, then click on the Account tab and select Deactivate your Account. Enter your password and confirm that you want to proceed. Once you've done this, your profile and username will be hidden from public view. If you change your mind, you can stop the process by logging in at any point during the 30-day period.

If you've signed up for a subscription, such as a premium account, cancel it if you don't want to make another payment. Subscriptions are only automatically canceled when the account is deleted.

Third-party apps may still have access to your account, even after you've deactivated it. To see which apps you've given access to, head to the settings menu, then Security and Account Access. Click on Apps and Sessions, and then Connected Apps. You can revoke access to individual apps by tapping or clicking on each one.

Before you leave X for good, you may want to download an archive of your data. This will include all your posts, direct messages, and other account information. To do this, enter your password and request the data, which will come in a zip file. When you requested your archive, it took about 24 hours to be available for download.

Once you've left X, you may be wondering what happens to your data. According to X's privacy page, the company keeps users' profile information and content for the duration of their account. It also holds on to other "personally identifiable data" for up to 18 months, without being more specific about what that data is.

As you say your farewells to X, you may want to take a moment to reflect on why you're leaving. You could write a heartfelt farewell letter, explaining your reasons for leaving and what you'll be doing instead. Or, you could simply lock down your account, making it so only people who follow you already can see your posts.

X-ing Out: A Guide to Leaving Elon Musk's Social Media Platform

Actions