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How To Look at Deleted Twitter Accounts: 3 Working Solutions

Arnel Bagyaratnam

Oct 24, 2024 11 mins read
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Is there a Twitter account you used to follow that no longer exists because the user deleted their profile? Or did you leave this social media platform but now want to go through your older tweets? You may also have other reasons for wanting to learn how to look at deleted Twitter accounts.

You tried several suggestions from various blogs and forums, but nothing worked. Should you just call it a day and move on from what seems futile? Well, don’t give up hope just yet, as this article explores three working solutions for Twitter, now X.

With these techniques, you can find deleted accounts on X, even though they’re no longer in the platform’s database. So, without further ado, let’s start!

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How To Look at Deleted Twitter Accounts: Is It Still Possible?

Yes, it is still possible to look at deleted Twitter accounts. You need to use several third-party tools and tricks to recover these profiles.

However, you won’t find deleted accounts on X. Why? Twitter has only one way to remove your account — deactivate your profile for over 30 days. When you deactivate your profile and wait, the platform hides your account from its search results. It also removes your tweets and replies, ensuring no one can find them.

After 30 days, the social media giant deletes your profile and associated data from its database. As a result, you won’t find any deleted Twitter user’s account by using the network’s search tool.

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How To Look at a Twitter Accounts Deleted Tweets: Try This 2-Step Solution

The good news is — once something goes on the internet, removing all traces of its existence isn’t easy. This is also the case for social media channels like X. Here is a two-step guide on how to look at a Twitter accounts deleted tweets.

1. Use Twitter’s Advanced Search Tool To Find Replies to the Deleted Tweets

The first step is to look for users who replied to the deleted tweet. How do you do this? The easiest solution is to use X’s advanced search tool. It has multiple filters, which makes finding replies on this network far easier.

Here’s how to use X’s advanced search tool to find specific replies to deleted tweets:

Note: Twitter’s advanced search is only available in the platform’s web version. You’ll find it if you access Twitter via your desktop or mobile browser. Otherwise, you’ll need to use search commands on the mobile app.

Desktop and mobile browser:

  1. Open X in a new tab on your desktop browser and sign in to your social media account.
  2. Enter any phrase in the search bar on the right side of Twitter’s interface and go to the results page.
  3. Click the Advanced Search text button below the Search Filters section. You can also left-click the three-dot button next to the X’s search bar and select Advanced Search.
  4. Scroll to the Accounts section in the Advanced Search popup.
  5. In the To These Accounts text field, enter the username of the individual who deleted the tweet.
  6. Use the Dates section to get replies from a specific date range. You can also fill in the information in the other sections to narrow the results.
  7. Click the Search button in the popup to go to the results page.
  8. Find the reply to the deleted tweet and click the comment to expand the post.
  9. Copy the reply’s link from the browser’s address bar.

If you’re using the mobile app, enter the following search operator in the platform’s search tool:

(to:username) until:yyyy-mm-dd since:yyyy-mm-dd

Replace “username” with the X handle and “yyyy-mm-dd” with the year, month, and day the user published the tweet.

2. Paste the Link in the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine

After you have the link, the second step is to visit the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. There’s a good chance you’ll find the deleted tweet, as it takes a snapshot of almost everything online.

Here’s how to use this service to find the deleted tweet

  1. Go to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine on your desktop browser.
  2. Paste the link to the reply to the deleted tweet in this service’s search bar. This search bar has the following text — Enter a URL or words related to a site’s home page.
  3. If there is a copy, the website shows a calendar with all the snapshots. Click the year the Wayback Machine saved the snapshot for the first time.
  4. Hover your mouse cursor over the first snapshot date with a blue bubble.
  5. You’ll see when this tool saved a copy of the user’s reply. Click it to view the comment on the deleted tweet.

With this technique, you can see the deleted post and some of its replies. The Wayback Machine also shows the number of likes, retweets, and comments. Most images will load without any issues. However, GIFs and videos may not work.

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How To Look at a Deleted Twitter Account Posts: Find Saved Screenshots

Were you unsuccessful after following the previous guide? Well, there’s still one more solution — look for saved screenshots. What does this mean? Several Twitter bots take screenshots of posts when users tag these accounts in the reply section. For example, Pikaso (@pikaso_me) is a popular bot for taking screen grabs on X.

Here’s how to look for saved screenshots using X’s advanced search tool:

  1. Go to X’s login page on your desktop browser and sign in to your social media account.
  2. Open a new tab in your browser and paste this link — www.x.com/search-advanced. www.twitter.com/search-advanced also works.
  3. Enter the screenshot bot’s username in the To These Accounts text box under the Accounts section. For example, if it’s the Pikaso bot, you’ll type — @pikaso_me. 
  4. If there is a specific command, type this in the All Of These Words box below the Words section. For instance, to use Pikaso, you need to use this command in the post’s reply — @pikaso_me screenshot this.
  5. In the Dates section, enter the date range of when the user published the deleted tweet.
  6. Go through the results page to see if anyone asked an X bot to take a screenshot.

Twitter’s old homepage in a desktop browser on MacOS.

How To Look at My Deleted Twitter Account: Check the Wayback Machine’s Database

The best answer to how to look at my deleted Twitter account is to check the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. Follow this guide to locate a snapshot of your deleted X profile:

Note: You must know the username of your Twitter account.

  1. Navigate to Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine homepage.
  2. Type this URL in the platform’s search bar — www.twitter.com/username. Replace “username” with your Twitter handle.
  3. If the website shows a calendar, it indicates there is a snapshot of your Twitter account.
  4. Click on any year in the calendar view to see all the saved snapshots.
  5. Place your mouse over any date with a blue bubble. A small dropdown menu shows all the times the Wayback Machine took a snapshot of your profile.
  6. You can see your deleted Twitter account with this technique.

What if you don’t find anything about your Twitter account on this website? If this is the case, there’s no other way to look at your X profile. You can ask people you know or who followed you if they have any screenshots.

Can You Use Google Cache To Find Deleted Tweets and Accounts?

Yes, you can use Google Cache to find deleted tweets and accounts. You must use the following search operator — “cache:website URL.” Replace the website URL with the link to the deleted profile page or Twitter post.

However, this technique won’t work for long. Why? Google is retiring the cache link service. When you search for anything on Google, tap the three-dot button next to the search result. This shows a menu with an option to view the cached page.

However, as of June 2024, you can no longer see this option. How long will it take before the “cache:” stops working? It’s hard to say, as Google didn’t give any timelines.

TweetDelete’s screenshot of Google’s tweet about the status of its cache service.

Does Politwoops Still Track Deleted Tweets From Government Officials?

No, Politwoops no longer tracks deleted tweets from government officials. It used to do this until 2022, when Elon Musk bought the social media channel. After the buyout, the Twitter leadership changed the platform’s API pricing. As a result, most third-party services that rely on the free API tier stopped working.

You can still use Politwoops to look for tweets government officials deleted before Elon Musk became the owner. However, this service may cease to work in the future.

The Palace of Westminster at night.

FAQ: FAQ About Deleted Twitter Accounts

The section below covers common questions people ask about deleted X accounts:

Can you log into a deleted Twitter account?

No, it’s not possible to log into a deleted Twitter account. Once the platform erases your profile, it no longer exists in its database.

When you deactivate your Twitter account, you have up to 30 days to sign in to your profile. After this period, the platform permanently removes your profile.

Can you get back a deleted tweet?

No, the platform doesn’t let you restore a deleted tweet. When you delete a post, a popup asks you to confirm your decision.

If you proceed, the platform removes the post. The only option is to download your Twitter Archive or X Data within 14 days. If you do this, there is a file, i.e., deleted-tweets.js, with your recently deleted posts.

How do you find the URLs of deleted Twitter accounts?

You can visit the deleted Twitter account’s profile page for the URL. Although the platform won’t show you their posts, a link to their profile is still active.

You don’t need to get the URL if you know the person’s username. With this information, you can use the link — www.twitter.com/username or www.x.com/username. Swap out “username” with the deleted Twitter account handle.

Is there a Wayback Machine for Twitter?

Unfortunately, there is no website like Wayback Machine for Twitter. You can still use the Wayback Machine to find deleted accounts and tweets. Similar services no longer work due to changes in Twitter’s API pricing.

Can you see direct messages (DMs) of deleted Twitter accounts?

No, you can’t see direct messages of deleted Twitter accounts. The user deleted their account, so the data is private.

TweetDelete Can Protect Your Online Privacy by Deleting Your Tweets

Finding deleted tweets and Twitter accounts can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. The techniques covered in this article will make finding specific posts and profiles easier.

Did you know it’s relatively easy to find your older tweets with Twitter’s advanced search utility? This means anyone can see your posts with a few clicks. The downside is that this can affect your reputation in the real world.

For example, you posted about your previous employer after leaving your job. When you apply for a new role in a different company, the hiring manager will check your social media profiles. They may not hire you if they find offensive tweets about your previous organization.

There’s no way of knowing what’s in your older posts. This is why you must regularly scan your Twitter profile and remove irrelevant tweets. TweetDelete makes this easy, unlike X, which expects you to delete each post individually.

With TweetDelete, there are several ways to clean your past on Twitter. For instance, the mass-delete tweets utility works well when you want to delete any number of posts. It doesn’t have any limitations to how many tweets you can remove.

The second feature is the auto-delete task. You must enter the keywords, hashtags, and date ranges of the posts you want to delete. Our system uses this information to locate specific posts and remove them quickly.

With TweetDelete, it won’t matter if people follow this “How to look at deleted Twitter accounts” guide.

Become a TweetDelete subscriber today and have a say in your online privacy!

Arnel Bagyaratnam

Arnel Bagyaratnam is an SEO writer for TweetDelete who is avidly interested in covering tech. Previously, he was a digital strategist for Holystoked, helping the company switch from an offline model to a hybrid store with a strong online presence. He also worked as a copywriter and SEO consultant for VERB Studio. An industrial engineering & management graduate, he spends his free time breaking and digging for music to dance to.

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