Five reasons to clean your tweets

1. I want to have a clean-up

If we’ve learned anything from the popularity of Marie Kondo, it’s that people love to tidy. But sprucing up your Twitter account is a bit different to cleaning your house. If your kitchen drawer is stuffed full of old junk and scraps of paper, people can’t see it. But they can see (and scrutinize) everything you’ve ever written on Twitter, so long as your profile’s public.

In the same way that painting a wall can give it a new lease of life, deleting old tweets can make your Twitter feel fresh and relevant again. Théo says ‘…because my opinions and context change with time, I’m more confident if my timeline only includes my “best and latest” opinions, behind which I know I can stand.’

Remember: if you decide to clean your tweets, take a leaf out of Marie Kondo’s book and thank your old tweets for their service.

2. I’m starting a new job

There’s a lot to think about when starting a new job. How the coffee machine works. Finding the bathroom. But we’ve also learned that many Jumbo users spend time cleaning up their Twitter, removing any fruity content from the prying eyes of new colleagues before their first day.

‘I started my Twitter in college and most of my tweets were embarrassingly about partying’, writes Kyleigh. ‘They are still kind of funny for me to look back at, but I would hate for my new professional community to see any of them.’

And Simon says that ‘literally the only reason’ he deletes his tweets is because ‘Someone from work will search my timeline and find something incriminating.’ Simon, we solemnly promise to never search your timeline.

3. I want to travel safely

Going on vacation isn’t always as simple as packing a bag and remembering your passport. Some countries are pretty controlling about the opinions you hold. They may even scour your social media for posts that they disagree with, which could stop you from entering the country. Or worse.

4. I don’t want my old tweets to cause offense

Our thoughts and opinions change all the time but our Twitter account doesn’t. It’s a relic of the past, a museum for our old selves. ‘Older tweets from me frequently scare me. They often seem alien, as written by another person writes @Plumpsjen. ‘But I also notice that I have changed unconsciously. That reassures me […] I’m moving and that’s a good thing.’

Being embarrassed by your old tweets is one thing. Having them cause offense is a much bigger problem. Many of us have said things in the past that we wouldn’t say today. If you haven’t deleted your past Twitter musings, they’re still waiting there for someone to find – which could be an issue if someone decides to comb through your vintage tweets.

5. I want to protect my privacy

Over years of use and thousands of tweets, Twitter builds a pretty accurate picture of who you are. And to many Jumbo users, that’s terrifying.

@persiangiv says ‘Privacy is more important to me than opinions which change over time.’ And Théo points out that ‘Each public Tweet reveal something about me (location, preferences, opinions, social group, etc.) to the world. So, thousands of public tweets can paint a portrait that’s too precise for my liking.’

For some people, this relentless tracking of all your thoughts and data might not be a problem. But if, like Nicolas, you’re thinking about ‘getting into politics or America’s Got Talent’, it might be time to clean those tweets.

Download Jumbo today and archive your tweets in a few minutes.