X's (formerly Twitter) 'plan to sell unused usernames in an auction format' is starting to take shape



It has been reported that Twitter (formerly known as X) is

planning to sell inactive usernames through an auction system, and new details have emerged about the process for selling dormant accounts.

X may soon start selling inactive usernames to Verified Organizations starting at $10K, code reveals | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/03/x-may-soon-start-selling-inactive-usernames-to-verified-organizations-starting-at-10k-code-reveals/



Elon Musk, the businessman who acquired Twitter in November 2022, has introduced various measures to improve revenue, such as cutting costs by laying off employees and revamping

Twitter Blue , a paid subscription service, but with many companies stopping advertising , X is facing a severe decline in revenue.

Therefore, it has been reported that X will sell usernames beginning with '@' in an auction format in January 2023 in order to free up dormant accounts and improve revenue, and it has also been revealed that it plans to sell them for $50,000 (approximately 7.5 million yen) each in November 2023.

X to sell inactive usernames for 7.5 million yen each - GIGAZINE



Engineer Nima Ouji said he had recently discovered details about how accounts were sold. According to Ouji, only companies and government agencies that have registered as ' verified organizations ' for the premium subscription service can participate in the auctions for selling accounts, with the starting price being $10,000 and sometimes even exceeding $500,000.




Ouji also found a FAQ page about the auction, which reports that users interested in purchasing an account should contact X's support bot with the username they want to purchase. An auction for that username will then be held within three business days, with the winner being able to use the account within one to two days of purchase.

Additionally, discounts may be offered to users who purchase multiple usernames at once.




In addition, X's Help Center states that 'at this time, we do not allow users to use usernames that do not have any operational traces' as a policy regarding inactive accounts.



In addition, X changed its English policy in May 2023, amending its policy to delete accounts that have not been logged in for 30 days as 'dormant accounts.'

Twitter announces that it will delete dormant accounts, and if you haven't logged in for 30 days, your account will be considered dormant - GIGAZINE



However, the Japanese version of the policy has not been updated at the time of writing, and it states that you should 'log in at least every six months' to keep your account active.

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