# What Does 'Deleted by Tweet Author' Mean?

"This post was deleted by the post author" means the person who wrote the post removed it themselves, so X no longer shows it to anyone.

[![apidojo](/blog/authors/apidojo.png)**Apidojo** *15+ years of experience in data retrieval.*](/blog/authors/apidojo/)

**7 October 2026** Published

**3 min** Read

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**“This post was deleted by the post author” means the person who wrote the post removed it themselves, so X no longer shows it to anyone.** X displays the notice where the post used to appear, such as above the replies to it or inside a quote post, so the conversation still makes sense. X didn’t remove it, and you weren’t blocked.

Deleted posts leave X entirely, including search. Whether a copy can still be found is covered in [how to find deleted tweets](/blog/x-guides/find-deleted-tweets/). For the parts of a post and where its ID lives, see [what a tweet is on X](/blog/x-guides/what-is-a-tweet/).

## Where Does the “Deleted by the Post Author” Notice Appear?

**The notice appears wherever another post still points to the deleted one: in a reply thread, in a quote post, or in a link to the post.** Listed below are the 3 places you’ll see it.

1.  **Above replies**, when the post being replied to was deleted.
2.  **Inside a quote post**, where the quoted post used to be embedded.
3.  **On the post’s own page**, when you open its link.

Reposts of a deleted post disappear entirely rather than showing a notice ([X Help Center](https://help.x.com/en/using-x/repost-faqs)).

## How Is “Deleted by the Post Author” Different From “This Post Is Unavailable”?

**“Deleted by the post author” names the cause, while “This post is unavailable” covers several causes, such as a protected account, a deactivated account or a deleted post.** X lists those cases in its notices guide ([X Help Center](https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/notices-on-x)). The full list is in [why a tweet says this post is unavailable](/blog/x-guides/post-unavailable/).

| Notice | What it tells you |
| --- | --- |
| This post was deleted by the post author | The author removed it |
| This post is unavailable | One of several reasons; the author, X or the account’s settings made it unviewable |
| This post is from a suspended account | X suspended the author’s account |

## Can You Still See a Post That Was Deleted by Its Author?

**Not on X: the post is gone for everyone, and X doesn’t restore it.** A copy survives only if it was saved before deletion, for example in a Wayback Machine capture, a screenshot, a news article, or the author’s own downloaded X archive. If you have the post’s ID from its link, the ID still tells you exactly when it was posted; see [how to view a tweet by ID on X](/blog/x-guides/view-tweet-by-id/).

## What Happens to Replies When a Post Is Deleted?

**Replies stay on X under their own authors’ accounts, shown with the deleted-post notice above them.** Each reply belongs to its author, so the original author deleting their post doesn’t delete anyone else’s replies.

## How Do You Keep Posts That Might Be Deleted?

**To keep posts that might be deleted, save them as they appear: archive the page in the Wayback Machine, screenshot it, or collect posts as data.** apidojo’s [Twitter Scraper Unlimited](https://apify.com/apidojo/twitter-scraper-lite) on Apify can collect an account’s posts on a schedule, so a copy exists if the author later deletes them; it can’t recover posts deleted before you collected them (Apify). The setup is in [how to monitor a keyword on X with an API](/blog/twitter-scraping/monitor-keyword/).

## The scrapers behind this

-   [Twitter Scraper Unlimited Single tweets, reply threads, X Articles and small queries; no minimum $0.016 / query + $0.40 / 1K](/scrapers/twitter-scraper-lite/)

## Questions people ask

### Does deleting a tweet notify anyone?

No, X doesn't notify people when a post is deleted.

### Can you tell when a tweet was deleted?

No, X doesn't show the deletion time; the post's ID shows only when it was posted.

### Can the author restore a deleted tweet?

No, deletion is permanent; the author can only post it again as a new post.

## More X guides

-   [What Is a Tweet? Posts, Replies and IDs Explained What a tweet is, what it can contain, the 4 types of posts on X, how tweet IDs work, and guides to every everyday X task.](/blog/x-guides/what-is-a-tweet/)
-   [How to Post a Tweet on X: Step by Step (2026) Post a tweet on the X app or x.com: write up to 280 characters, add up to 4 photos or a video, post longer text, reply, delete and pin.](/blog/x-guides/how-to-post-a-tweet/)
-   [How to Quote Tweet on X (Desktop and App) Quote a tweet on the X app or x.com, see who quoted a post, and learn the difference between a quote post and a repost.](/blog/x-guides/quote-tweet/)
-   [How to Post Two Pictures Side by Side on X Attach 2 images to post them side by side on X, size them so the preview doesn't crop them, and see how X lays out 1 to 4 images.](/blog/x-guides/two-pictures-side-by-side/)
-   [Can You Pin Someone Else's Tweet on X? X only lets you pin your own posts, but quoting someone else's post and pinning your quote works. Here's how, step by step.](/blog/x-guides/pin-someone-elses-tweet/)
-   [How to Embed a Tweet on a Website Get the embed code for any public post from publish.x.com, change its look, and fix embedded tweets that stop showing.](/blog/x-guides/embed-a-tweet/)
-   [How to View a Tweet by ID on X Open any tweet from its ID with x.com/i/status, find a tweet's ID, read its posting date from the ID, and fetch many at once.](/blog/x-guides/view-tweet-by-id/)
-   [How to Find Deleted Tweets: What Works in 2026 The 4 ways to find deleted tweets in 2026, from your X archive to the Wayback Machine, which methods no longer work, and how to save posts.](/blog/x-guides/find-deleted-tweets/)
-   [Why a Tweet Says 'This Post Is Unavailable' The reasons X shows "this post is unavailable", from deleted posts to blocks, how to tell which applies, and when you can view it.](/blog/x-guides/post-unavailable/)
-   [How to Tell If a Tweet Was Written by AI Why AI detectors fail on tweets, the account signals that do suggest automation, and how to check a whole thread for bot replies.](/blog/x-guides/tweet-written-by-ai/)
-   [Who Blocked Me on Twitter (X)? How to Check in 2026 Twitter (X) does not show who blocked you: no list, no notification, no API endpoint.](/blog/x-guides/who-blocked-me-on-twitter/)

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