Key Takeaways

  • Twitter is rebranding as X, with a temporary logo in place. The domain X.com currently redirects to Twitter, but may become the official domain in the future.
  • The focus of Twitter will expand beyond text-based content to include audio, video, messaging, and payments/banking, similar to the WeChat app in China.
  • For now, users will still have the same experience on X as they did on Twitter. However, as Elon Musk aims to make it an all-encompassing service, future changes may alter the platform, potentially leading users to explore alternatives like Threads or other social media sites.

Elon Musk is officially killing Twitter. No, he's not taking the multi-billion dollar social network offline for the good of humanity. He's changing the name of the popular social media service to X. We will no longer tweet our thoughts to the masses. It's been a good run Twitter.

What does changing the name of Twitter really mean, and does calling the service X actually change the social service's position in the market? More importantly, will anything change for you, the person who wants to interact with their favorite follows and followers?

What is X?

X is Twitter. For now, it really is that simple. When you head to Twitter.com, the menu on the side of the screen now features what Twitter's owner calls an interim X logo instead of the adorable Twitter bird we've grown to know and love over the past few years. It's unclear when a finalized X logo will come out, but the temporary one does the job well enough for now.

Forwarding is already underway, too. If you type X.com into your browser, you're redirected to Twitter. Presumably, at some point, X.com won't redirect to Twitter but will instead become the actual domain, with Twitter.com redirecting to X.com instead.

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For the time being, everything else is exactly the same. You'll still click a button labeled "Tweet" when you finish expressing your thoughts, though that'll change as the rebranding moves forward. Musk hasn't said what tweeting will be called. It could be something basic like "Posting," or he could have some new name like "Xing," "Crossing," or something completely out of the left field.

What's happening to Twitter?

Basically, everything related to the Twitter brand will be gone soon. We won't see birds on the website or app anymore. We won't be tweeting. We won't see Twitter logos around (that's already happening with the X logo moving into place across the mobile apps and desktop versions).

It sounds like we'll still be posting stuff to a social network, though the scope might expand. Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino said the network will be "centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking." That's similar to Twitter's current focus but with some extras, especially regarding payments and banking. It sounds a lot like Musk wants Twitter to be an all-in-one app like WeChat in China instead of a primarily text-based social network.

What does Twitter becoming X mean for you?

Right now, your life shouldn't change because of this rebranding. You'll still go to the same application or website you always did. You'll see the same posts from the same people. You'll be able to create posts with images, videos, text, and everything else you've ever done on Twitter, but you'll be doing it from X instead.

However, it's hard to say what could change in the future. As Elon Musk digs deeper into his goal of making Twitter an all-encompassing service, you might find that it's not for you. You might want to look at the differences between Twitter and Threads to see if the new Meta-owned social network might better meet your needs. You might want to abandon the microblogging-style social media sites and move to something else entirely. It all comes down to how much Musk and his team change as they move to X.

How to delete your Twitter, aka X, account

If this rebranding sounds like too much for you, you can always delete Twitter, aka X, and move on. Here's a quick step-by-step guide to leaving once and for all:

  1. In the app or website, use the left-hand navigation menu to select "Settings and Privacy."
  2. Tap or click "Your account."
  3. Tap or click "Deactivate your account."
  4. Choose whether you want to reactivate your account in 30 days or 12 months.
  5. Click or tap "Deactivate" to confirm.
  6. Enter your password and click or tap "Deactivate" one last time.

That's it; now your account is in the deactivated state. If you want to delete it forever, don't log back in during your chosen time period, and your account will be removed. Unfortunately, you cannot permanently delete your account without going through the reactivation period.