Twitter / X Logo

Carbon Footprint of Twitter / X

IdleForest models one hour of Twitter / X use at about 36g of CO2.

Refreshing your feed on X (formerly Twitter) triggers cloud databases and content delivery networks to serve media-heavy timelines instantly.

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hrs/week
0 kg
Yearly CO2 Emissions
0 trees
Needed to Offset
"Doomscrolling? Make it green planting."

What drives this estimate most

  • Autoplay, recommendation loops, and image/video-heavy feeds extend session length.
  • Short-form video often behaves more like streaming than lightweight browsing.
  • The device and network layer still matter even when individual interactions feel small.

Assumptions and boundaries

  • The estimate reflects active social-media use over time rather than a single refresh.
  • It bundles app-side, network-side, and device-side energy demand into one consumer footprint.
  • The number is most useful for comparing habits and platforms.

Uncertainty note: Social-media footprints vary with media density, autoplay behavior, device, and the amount of video in the feed.

Yearly Impact Comparison

IdleForest
Twitter / X

*IdleForest offsets ~200kg CO2/year on average per user.

Ways to reduce this footprint

  • Disable autoplay and cut accidental scroll time where possible.
  • Use smaller devices and lower brightness for casual sessions.
  • Set app time limits if recommendation loops are extending usage.

Estimate review

Who reviewed this estimate

Reviewed by: IdleForest Research Team

Role: Editorial Review

Organization: IdleForest

Last reviewed: April 24, 2026

These estimates are meant to help compare digital habits. They are directional, not exact reproductions of proprietary vendor accounting.

More questions about Twitter / X's carbon footprint

How much CO2 does scrolling Twitter produce?

Scrolling for an hour generates about 36g of CO2, depending on the volume of videos and images in your feed.

About IdleForest

IdleForest is a passive browser extension that plants trees while you browse, game, or stream. It uses your unused internet bandwidth to fund reforestation projects.

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No account required

Open source