Twitter is considering selling the unused usernames that you’ve been hogging

If you’ve been hogging a bunch of Twitter usernames on the platform and haven’t even used them, you might have them taken away by the platform and sold for money soon. Twitter is reportedly considering selling those usernames as a way to boost revenue.

Last month, Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the platform would soon start freeing up 1.5 billion usernames—noting that inactive accounts would be deleted. He also mentioned that he was interested in freeing up accounts with desired usernames.

It was reported that engineers at the company have considered organising online auctions where people can bid for usernames. However, we don’t know if the auction plan will affect all usernames or only some of them.

Previously, people have been able to buy sought-after Twitter usernames on the black market as the platform did not allow the buying and selling of usernames. In 2020, a teenager was even arrested after hacking the social network and selling high-profile usernames—including accounts for Musk, former president Barack Obama, and Bill Gates.

Since Musk’s Twitter takeover of Twitter, many advertisers have left the platform—causing a massive drop in revenue. Musk has since been trying to find ways to boost the company’s revenue, like introducing a revamped Twitter Blue subscription that comes with a verified blue checkmark, and a lift of the ban on political ads in the “coming weeks“.

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