Twitter recently updated their inactive account policy, paving the way for their ability to 'reclaim' abandoned accounts that have been deemed inactive.
I'd like to take this opportunity to re-affirm Buttondown's policy on this subject:
- We will hold onto your username and archives indefinitely, regardless of whether or not you're a paying customer. We understand that newsletters are often hobbies or projects with long-term horizons, and stepping away for months or years is not just normal but healthy.
- If you delete your newsletter, there is no grace period — that username can be immediately recycled by another user.
(As always, these policies can be superseded by healthy judgment in cases of terms of use violations: if you're egregiously camping usernames or engaged in malicious activity on the platform, they may not apply. )
Here's the thing: digital life is hard enough. You should not have to spend any time worrying about someone stealing your digital identity, nor any time worrying about a URL you visited in 2023 having vanished in 2025.
Buttondown is, more than anything, committed to making your life a tiny bit easier in a number of ways. We hope this policy is one of those infinitesimal ways.
