Losing my X account.

In November, I flew with my wife and son from South Korea to Charlotte, NC to visit my family. I’m originally from Charlotte and hadn’t been back in about five years. While I was there, I traded in my iPhone for a new one at an official Apple Store. I was told the phone was fully wiped, and I watched it get reset to factory settings, so I’m not sure if that had anything to do with what happened or if it was something else.

What really baffles me is X’s response. I’ve had my account since 2011, I’ve never had any strikes, warnings, or issues, and I only post about my video games—and even then, not very often. When I returned to South Korea and tried to log in, I was met with a suspension notice saying my account was “inauthentic.” I looked up the rules related to this, and none of them apply to anything I’ve ever done on X.

I submitted an appeal assuming it would be an open-and-shut mistake. Instead, after reaching out five times, I received a message stating that I would never get my account back and that they would no longer respond to emails.

So that’s it—I lost an account with over 3,000 followers for nothing. No chance to explain my side beyond what automated systems see, no way to speak to a real person, and no opportunity to provide ID, passport, phone number, or any proof that the account is mine.

The kicker is that I was paying for a SUPER GROK subscription using this same X account. They already had my credit card and identity on file. I reached out to Grok support as well and never heard back. I’ve since canceled my Grok subscription and moved over to Bluesky, which honestly seems better for what I do anyway—I get far more engagement there as a game developer. Still, it’s sad. I genuinely like the platform of X, but it’s wild that an account in good standing for 14 years can just be deleted with no real explanation.