One Correction: Zayn Malik makes 1D departure official by removing all band references from his Twitter profile

Weeks after announcing that he'd quit One Direction, Zayn Malik has put in the final nail in the social media coffin by removing all references to the boy band from his Twitter profile.

The 22-year-old singer quit the group in March and has now had his handle on the micro-blogging site changed from @ZaynMalik1D to @ZaynMalik and removed his brief biography entirely.

After the changes, Zayn posted just one cryptic tweet on Thursday night, which read: 'Is speech an extension to our thoughts or an image that we like to create x (sic).'

It's official: Zayn Malik has officially sealed his departure from One Direction by removing all references to the band from his Twitter profile

The move devastated One Direction fans, who quickly began posting with the hashtag #YouWillAlwaysBeZaynMalik1D.

One wrote: 'Okay I'm even more sad than before #YouWillAlwaysBeZaynMalik1D.'

Another devotee added: 'March 25th: Zayn Malik physically left One Direction. April 30th: Zayn Malik mentally left One Direction .'

One Correction: The pop heart-throb's handle has been changed from @ZaynMalik1D to @ZaynMalik and he's removed his brief biography entirely

Zayn calls bandmates 'best guys I've ever met' at Asian Awards

After quitting the group, the pop heart-throb remained silent on social media until 20 April, when he thanked those close to him for their loyal support.

He wrote: 'Wanna say thanks to everyone that's been there for me over the last few weeks, love you all.. you know who you are x.'

He followed up: 'The x is a kiss by the way ha it's not a mystery .. sorry to any confused .... (sic)'

Over and out: Zayn enjoyed worldwide success with bandmates (lr) Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Liam Payne before announcing his shocking decision to quit in March