Confusing personal archive vs public archive
Twitter account exports include account-level data, while CDX captures reflect public pages crawled on the web.
Twitter Archive Deleted Tweets Guide
Use Twitter archive context plus Wayback captures to investigate deleted tweets.
People often conflate account exports with public web archives. This guide clarifies the difference and shows where Xarchive fits.
Quick answer: Account exports and public web archives are different sources; for public verification, use Internet Archive CDX captures and inspect historical snapshots.
Step-by-Step
- Identify whether you need personal export data or public archival evidence.
- For public evidence, search tweet/profile URLs in Xarchive.
- Filter by timeline to find captures before and after the deletion window.
- Open captures to confirm visibility and context of the tweet.
- Export the final evidence set in JSON, CSV, or HTML.
Common Failure Cases
No CDX snapshot for target tweet
If no public crawl occurred before deletion, recovery from public archives may be impossible.
Timestamp interpretation errors
Always reference snapshot timestamps in UTC and keep the original source URL in documentation.
Data Source and Limitations
Data source: Internet Archive CDX index (https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx). Results depend on what was publicly crawled and stored.
Run This in Xarchive
Search captures, preview snapshots, and export your verified set in one flow.
Related Guides
FAQ
Is Xarchive the same as Twitter's official archive export?
No. Xarchive surfaces public web archive captures and does not replace account export files.
Why do some deleted tweets still appear in archives?
Because archived copies can persist if the page was crawled before the tweet was removed.
Can I cite these captures in reports?
Yes. Include source URL, capture timestamp, and notes about archival limitations.
Last updated: February 25, 2026