Even years later, Twitter doesn’t delete your direct messages

guest · Feb 15, 2019

Even years later, Twitter doesn’t delete your direct messages
February 15, 2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/15/twitter-direct-messages/

When does “delete” really mean delete? Not always or even at all if you’re Twitter .
Twitter retains direct messages for years, including messages you and others have deleted, but also data sent to and from accounts that have been deactivated and suspended, according to security researcher Karan Saini.

Twitter also says in its privacy policy that anyone wanting to leave the service can have their account “deactivated and then deleted.” After a 30-day grace period, the account disappears and along with its data.
But, in our tests, we could recover direct messages from years ago — including old messages that had since been lost to suspended or deleted accounts.

Saini says this is a “functional bug” rather than a security flaw, but argued that the bug allows anyone a “clear bypass” of Twitter mechanisms to prevent accessed to suspended or deactivated accounts.
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But it’s also a privacy matter, and a reminder that “delete” doesn’t mean delete — especially with your direct messages. That can open up users, particularly high-risk accounts like journalist and activists, to government data demands that call for data from years earlier.
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Floyd 57 · Feb 17, 2019

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Even years later, Twitter doesn’t delete your direct messages

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Even years later, Twitter doesn’t delete your direct messages

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