Twitter begins weeding out locked accounts; move to impact follower count

Over the years, Twitter has locked accounts when it detected sudden changes in account behaviour. In these situations, the platform reaches out to the owners of the accounts and unless they validate the account and reset their passwords, Twitter keeps them locked with no ability to log in. This week, Twitter will be removing these locked accounts from follower counts across profiles globally. As a result, the number of followers displayed on many profiles may go down. 

Most people will see a change of four followers or fewer; others with larger follower counts will experience a more significant drop. Twitter believes that accuracy and transparency will make the platform a more trusted service for public conversation. 

Though the most significant changes are happening in the next few days, follower counts may continue to change more regularly as part of Twitter’s ongoing work to proactively identify and challenge problematic accounts. 

Why does an account get locked? 

If Twitter detects sudden changes in account behaviour, Twitter may lock the account and contact the owner to confirm they still have control of it. These sudden changes in account behaviour could include Tweeting a large volume of unsolicited replies or mentions, Tweeting misleading links, or if a large number of accounts block the account after mentioning them. The platform sometimes locks an account if it sees email and password combinations from other services posted online and believe that information could put the security of an account at risk. So, Twitter requires account owners to change their passwords for protection. Until Twitter confirms that everything is okay with the account, Twitter will lock the account, which makes the account unable to Tweet or see ads. 

How are these accounts different from spam or bots? 

In most cases, these accounts were created by real people, but the platform cannot confirm that the original person who opened the account still has control and access to it. 

Spam accounts (sometimes referred to as bot accounts) typically exhibit spammy behaviour from the beginning, are increasingly predictable by Twitter’s systems, and Twitter can use its technology to automatically shut them down. 

Why just followers? Will this expand to Tweets, Likes, and Retweets? 

Twitter’s ongoing work to improve the health of conversations on Twitter encompasses all aspects of its service. This specific update is focused on followers, because it is one of the most visible features on the platform’s service and often associated with account credibility. Once an account is locked, it cannot Tweet, like or Retweet and it is not served ads. 

Impact on Monthly Active User or Daily Active User metrics 

Removing locked accounts from followers will not affect users’ Monthly Active User (MAU) or Daily Active User (DAU). Locked accounts that have not reset their password in more than one month are not included in MAU or DAU. While today’s change does not affect MAU or DAU, some accounts Twitter removes from the service as part of its ongoing commitment to a healthy public conversation have the potential to impact publicly reported metrics.