Twitter is freeing up desired usernames as Elon Musk reveals purge of inactive accounts

Although Twitter has had an inactive account policy in place for years, which states that users should log in at least once every 30 days to prevent permanent removal, it hadn’t yet made any major effort to put usernames back into rotation. Musk clarified that Twitter’s current purge is more conservative than the policy states, as it is removing accounts that have had no activity at all for several years. However, he did warn users that the purge could cause follower counts to drop, which may be more noticeable for long-time Twitter accounts that accumulated a large following during the social network’s early days.

Musk also confirmed in a follow-up tweet that a significant number of usernames would become available as a result of the purge, but didn’t provide any details on how users would be able to obtain them other than the usual method of trying to create a new account with a specific name. In the past, Twitter has considered selling desired usernames through online auctions to generate additional revenue, although it is unclear if this plan remains in play and how it would work.

Musk has expressed interest in freeing up usernames since taking over Twitter, and he previously tweeted in December 2022 that the social network would “soon” start freeing up the namespace of 1.5 billion accounts by deleting inactive accounts. This move could potentially attract lapsed users back to Twitter and ultimately benefit its network effects and revenue-generating capabilities. However, it remains to be seen if Musk’s plans will come to fruition in the timeframe he suggests.

Despite increased competition from Twitter alternatives like Mastodon, Bluesky, and T2, among others, Twitter remains a dominant player in the social media landscape. Opening up coveted usernames could potentially help Musk lure back some of the users who have migrated to these other platforms, but it is still unclear whether this move will be enough to stem the tide of competition. Many Twitter users have raised concerns about what will happen to the accounts of those who have passed away, and whether there will be a way to memorialize these accounts rather than deleting them. However, this issue has yet to be addressed by Twitter or Musk.