Searches for ‘How to delete Twitter’ surge by 500% following Elon Musk takeover

Charlie Herbert

How to delete Twitter searches surge by 500% following Elon Musk takeover

Not a ringing endorsement

Searches for ‘how to delete Twitter’ have surged by 500 percent in the week following Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform.

Last week, it was confirmed that the Tesla CEO had officially purchased Twitter for $44 billion (£38 billion) following months of uncertainty over whether the deal would go through.

But it doesn’t sound like users are too thrilled about his acquisition of the company if search trends are anything to go by.

Security firm VPNOverview used Google Trends data to establish that between 24 October and 31 October, searches for ‘how to delete Twitter’ were up a remarkable 500 percent.

Meanwhile, searches for ‘boycott Twitter’ were up a staggering 4,800 percent between 26 October and 2 November.

Musk completed his takeover of Twitter in October (Getty)

However, Naj Ahmed – a privacy expert at VPNOverview – suggested it’s “unlikely” Musk will implement any immediate changes on the social media platform, insisting his takeover “doesn’t mean a whole lot right away.”

Ahmed said: “Twitter’s not trying to revolutionise the way people communicate, or disrupt an existing industry, unlike most of Mr Musk’s existing companies.”

Musk is just days into the job but he has wasted no time in making some pretty significant changes and suggestions.

The billionaire has already fired top execs, and changed its homepage for logged out users.

With the help of Tesla engineers he has brought into Twitter as advisors, he’s also planning mass layoffs aimed at middle managers and engineers who haven’t recently contributed to the code base.

Musk has also decided to bin Twitter’s entire board and make himself the “sole director” of the company, and plans to raise the cost of Twitter Blue from $5 (£4.30) to $20 a month (£17), with verified users given 90 days to sign up or lose their blue tick.

Yo @elonmusk while I have your attention, why should people pay $8 just for their app to get bricked when they say something you don’t like?

This is what my app has looked like ever since my tweet upset you yesterday. What’s good? Doesn’t seem very free speechy to me 🤔 pic.twitter.com/e3hcZ7T9up

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 3, 2022

Since his takeover, several celebs have decided that Musk’s arrival was the signal for their departure.

Many are concerned that his acquisition of the platform will lead to an increase in hate speech and abuse, due to his laissez-faire attitude to what should and shouldn’t be allowed on Twitter.

For example, Kanye West’s Twitter account has also been restored on the site, although Musk denies having anything to do with this decision.

Related links: