After the exodus of “critical” workers from Twitter sparked fears the site could no longer function reliably, some users are thinking it might be time to preserve years of tweets and other data.
Twitter offers a method for downloading your data that is, in theory, not difficult. It depends on how the service works and as of last week cracks were already visible in the infrastructure.
But hopefully, here’s how you can download your data, including your tweets, attached photos and videos, direct messages, likes, lists, and Moments.
On a desktop computer
Once logged into your account, click on “More” in the left column. Then select “Settings and support”, then “Settings and privacy”.
Under “Your Account”, select “Download an archive of your data”.
IMAGE FROM TWITTER
Under “Your Account”, select “Download an archive of your data”.
You will need to enter your Twitter password, and you will then be emailed or texted with a verification code that you will also need to enter. There were multiple reports on Friday that the texting option was not working, but the email option seemed to be working.
After entering your password and verification code, click the big blue button labeled “Request Archive”.
Once you’ve requested your data, it’s time to sit back and hope. Twitter says “it may take 24 hours or more for your data to be ready,” but that’s a best-case scenario. Good luck !
IMAGE FROM TWITTER
After entering your password and verification code, click the big blue button labeled “Request Archive”.
Under iOS and Android
Tap your profile picture in the top left corner, scroll down to ‘Settings & Support’, then select ‘Settings & Privacy’. Tap on “Your account”, then on “Download an archive of your data”. You will be asked to log in to Twitter. Then follow the steps described above.
IMAGE FROM TWITTER ON IOS
Tap your profile picture in the top left corner, scroll down to ‘Settings & Support’, then select ‘Settings & Privacy’. Tap on “Your account”, then on “Download an archive of your data”.
Once you have your data
When your archive is ready—if it is—you’ll receive a notification from Twitter allowing you to download a file to explore. Some will need their data for professional purposes, while others will fondly remember their greatest successes.
According to The Verge, the archive will include an HTML file that you can open in your web browser, making it easier to view the data without technical knowledge. It will include a search box to find old tweets and filters to refine the search.
This article was originally published in the New York Times.