How to Download Your X (Twitter) Data
Short answer: Request your X archive from Settings, then download it when X notifies you, usually within a day. The ZIP includes your posts and your likes, which are the two files that matter for a job search.
Step by step
- Go to x.com/settings/download_your_data (Settings → Your account → Download an archive of your data).
- If you haven’t requested one yet, click Request archive and confirm your password. X sends you a notification in the app when it’s ready.
- Come back to the same page and click Download archive.
- On the next screen, click Download archive again next to X data. It shows an expiration date, usually about a week out.
Why download it before a job search
Your X archive holds every post, reply, and repost you've made, plus every post you've liked. Likes are easy to forget, and X's export doesn't record when you liked something, only when the liked post was published.
Some screening vendors publicly describe social media lookbacks of up to seven years, so PruneSocial uses a seven-year review window for eligible dated activity. Actual employer and screening-provider practices can vary. Your own export is the most complete way to see what's there. See the sources and methodology.
What's in the file that matters
You don't need to unzip anything or dig through folders. The scan reads: tweets.js, like.js, note-tweet.js (long posts), article.js (Articles), and your bio in profile.js. From those it uses only the text, the dates, and whether a post was a reply. Photos, videos, messages, and everything else in the export stay on your computer.
A few things worth knowing. Your archive may hold thousands of files, mostly images and icons, and that's normal. A post that is only a photo or video has no text to score, so it is left out, and PruneSocial doesn't read images yet, so memes and screenshots you posted need a look by hand. Posts over the normal length show up in tweets.js as a shortened copy, so the scan reads the full text from note-tweet.js instead. An Article is read in full from article.js, but only if you shared it in a post, since an unpublished draft was never public. Likes come without dates, because X records what you liked but not when.
Can’t find the ZIP on your phone, or the scanner can’t read it? See fixes for common export problems.
Removing old likes on X
X’s help page describes unliking one post at a time, by tapping the liked heart again (X Help: liking posts). It doesn’t mention a bulk option. X’s automation rules say you may not like posts or hide replies in an automated manner (X automation rules), so check a bulk-unlike tool against them before you use one. Never give a third-party app your X username and password: X warns that doing so gives that app complete control of your account, and says connecting through X’s own authorization screen doesn’t require sharing them (X Help: third-party apps). PruneSocial doesn’t ask for your passwords and doesn’t remove likes for you; the report lists which likes were flagged so you can unlike those first. On Instagram, likes can be viewed and removed from Your activity (Instagram Help).
Check your X (Twitter) history when your export arrives
Not requested yet? Start with the export checklist. Drop the ZIP into PruneSocial and your posts (long posts and shared Articles included), reposts, and likes from the last seven years are scored against published screening categories, with a recommended fix for anything flagged.