If you’re still active on X but are considering leaving for one of the many alternatives available, now may be the best time to delete your X account. This is because X’s new Terms of Service are coming into effect on November 15, and they include a couple of elements that should be of concern.
X’s New Terms of Service Are Coming Into Effect
X’s new Terms of Serviceare coming into effect today (July 15, 2025), and there are a couple of points worth taking notice of. The two problematic elements of the new Terms of Service are as follows:
Under section 3, which is concerning “content on the services,” X formalizes its intention to use everything you post to train its AI model. The direct quote being, “analyze text and other information you provide and to otherwise provide, promote, and improve the Services, including, for example, for use with and training of our machine learning and artificial intelligence models, whether generative or another type”.
If you have been using X for the past few months, you will likely have been helping to train Grok (Elon Musk’s AI) unless you followedour advice to opt out of doing so. However, we don’t yet know if you’ll be able to opt out once the new TOS comes into effect. And if not, that’s an issue for anyone who cares about privacy.
Under section 5, and specifically “liquidated damages”, X introduces a new threat to fine users who use it too much. The direct quote being, “jointly and severally liable to us for liquidated damages as follows for requesting, viewing, or accessing more than 1,000,000 posts (including reply posts, video posts, image posts, and any other posts) in any 24-hour period - $15,000 USD per 1,000,000 posts”.
While 1 million posts sounds like a lot, this will impact researchers who currently use automated scraping tools for academic purposes. It also appears to run counter to Elon Musk’s desire for freedom of speech at all costs. So, while this is unlikely to affect you, it represents a shift in values.
Now’s the Time to Leave X for Somewhere New
Maybe you’re still happy using X, or even happier now since Elon Musk took over and made the changes he has made. In which case, carry on. However, for anyone who thinks X is no longer the social media platform for them, and is actively looking to move to a new platform, this is the perfect opportunity to jump ship.
There are a handful ofgood X/Twitter alternatives available, and none of them are openly using your posts to train their AI or threatening to fine you for overusing the platform. My personal preference isThreads, butBlueskyandMastodonare the other front-runners vying to acquire everyone fleeing X.
