There is a username out there on Twitter that perfectly represents your brand. But ... it's taken.
But - that's not all. The problem you see ... is that your dream username is taken up by an inactive account.
An account that probably hasn't made a post in ages ... and probably doesn't even have a profile photo, cover or that many followers.
So - what do you do? Do you come up with a creative (not really) prefix and suffix? How about adding 'official' or 'weare' or 'thereal' or maybe 'the'?
Or maybe - there is a way to get a username on Twitter that is taken? Let's explore!
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First things first - yes, there is a way to get taken usernames on Twitter. The only condition? The desired username you'd like must have been inactive for at least 2 years.
But Daisy - I read so many blogs and articles that say that there is no way to get a taken Twitter username.
Well - that's because they don't know any better.
You see - for any and every social network out there. Be it Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, SnapChat, YouTube and even Twitter - you can if you know the right people, get inactive usernames.
Take the case of 'NEOM' - a futuristic giga-project planned by Saudi Arabia. Now, how do you think they got @neom username on Twitter?
Do you think @neom was just available for grabs because no one ever thought of registering such a cool 4 letter username? Of course, not!
They most-likely got this username claimed via a well-connected marketing agency.
You see - larger media agencies, ad agencies and PR agencies that have enormous ad spend on social media platforms, have a special type of access at these platforms.
Let's work our way down. Imagine this for a moment - a certain government wants a certain topic to be censored on Twitter. What do you think they do?
Do they go to Twitter support and file a request and just wait and see what happens?
Of course not. They have a special access at Twitter which gives them special tools, privileges and a concierge through which they can make requests and demands.
Similarly, larger agencies that have enormous ad spend on Twitter, have special access to a suite of tools at Twitter. Think of it as a red carpet treatment.
Why?
Because Twitter runs on advertiser's funds. An advertiser like Disney or SONY or even those who are lesser-known but have large ad spends have dedicated media support access.
Via this access they can request for a variety of things ranging from requesting for inactive usernames, requesting for unban, requesting for ban of impersonating accounts and so on.
And that is how you get inactive Twitter usernames. And this is something that we (Handle Harmony) can help with.
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Alright, you know that you can technically get an inactive username on Twitter. But, you're wondering. How dose this exactly work?
Okay - so, first off, you can only request for usernames that are inactive and have been inactive for at least 2 years.
And next, you can only request for usernames that are longer than 5 characters, and ones that are not too generic.
Let's dissect both of these points one at at time.
So - how do you know if a username is truly inactive? Well, you can't truly know if an account is inactive.
However, you can gauge this by analyzing their profile. When was their last tweet? When was their last Tweet reply/comment?
With that said, when we make a request internally at Twitter for a username, they do an internal check to see if the the username you desire is truly inactive or not.
At that point if they find that your desired username is indeed active, they simply reject the request.
So - if you're confused on whether or not your desired username is inactive or not - don't worry about it. Send us your case and we'll check it for you.
Alright - with that clear, let's talk about what makes a username generic.
You see, usernames that are nouns or first names cannot be claimed (in general).
This would asking for usernames like @police or @pizze or @james and so on.
Why? Because rare and generic usernames hold a trade value. And Twitter, along with other social media networks is aware of this.
If you do get your hands on super rare and generic usernames like @dave or something, you can bet there would be a buyer out there who'd pay a pretty penny for it.
For this reason, social networks don't like giving away generic usernames because they believe that the reason someone is requesting such a username is so that they can sell it on the secondary market.
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The internet is filled with all kinds of nonsense.
A quick Google search and you'd find blogs and articles and what-not on how you can 'report' an account to get it banned and then take that username.
Yeah - that's doesn't work.
You cannot report an account for no reason expecting that Twitter team internally wipes off that account just so that you can get it.
Better yet - if your report does somehow gets accepted, Twitter would suspend the account, which would still NOT free up the username for you.
In fact, claiming a username that is suspended is far too complicated than claiming a username that is simply inactive.
You'd also find cases where people say that there is just no way to get an inactive Twitter username. Yup. Well ... how is it that some brands, influencers and public figures always seem to get their hands on perfect usernames?
And there you have it. Yes, you can get an inactive username on Twitter that is taken. You'd just have to hire and work with an agency that can get this job done on your behalf.
And, what's the best agency you can work with? Handle Harmony, of course! ;-)
