What happens to your Twitter account when you die?

Question

What happens to your Twitter account when you die? Is it deleted after a certain period? Should your friends or relatives inform Twitter that you are dead?

Answer 1

It stays open, unless Twitter decides to delete inactive accounts after a certain point. I can't see any harm in it staying open.

Answer 2

I have found the answer on the page of Twitter Help Center:

If we are notified that a Twitter user has passed away, we can remove their account or assist family members in saving a backup of their public Tweets.

Please contact us with the following information:

1. Your full name, contact information (including email address), and your relationship to the deceased user.
2. The username of the Twitter account, or a link to the profile page of the Twitter account.
3. A link to a public obituary or news article.

You can contact us at privacy@twitter.com, or by mail or fax.

We will respond by email with any additional information we might need.

Please note that we cannot allow access to the account or disclose other non-public information regarding the account.

Answer 3

I've got an inactive Twitter account, and the pattern is the same as for inactive FaceBook accounts. After about a month or so of inactivity you get an email with the text:

We've missed you on Twitter, xxxxxx (@xxxxxx )!

So much happens on Twitter every day, whether it's breaking news, a deal at your favorite shop, a local traffic jam or a funny pick-me-up from a friend. Twitter keeps you informed with what matters most to you today and helps you discover what might matter to you most tomorrow.

Curious to know what you're missing on Twitter right now? Visit your Twitter home page »

Forgot your Twitter password? Get instructions on how to reset it .

And I will expect to get more emails on the same lines.

Obviously at some point Twitter may consider deleting inactive accounts. But given that that would mean suddenly announcing that they have millions fewer users than they had previously announced I doubt they will do it except in a dire financial emergency.