Tag: handle

After previewing its plans to open a marketplace to “redistribute” dormant handles last month, X has made the feature available to all Premium+ subscribers on the platform. The feature allows subscribers to request new handles that up to now have been unavailable because they belonged to accounts that have since become inactive.

The marketplace offers two types of handles: “priority” and “rare.” For priority handles, X has suggested the goal is to give people the chance to have a handle that more closely reflects their name. In practice, though, it’s not at all clear how X is determining what’s considered a “priority” versus a “rare” handle. I signed up for a $40/month subscription and searched for both @kbell and @karissa only to be told that both are considered “rare” and thus not available to me. I was able to “register” my “interest” in the names, and include a brief description of why I wanted the handles.

The company says that rare handles are “the most valuable” names and are “often words, slang, or containing few characters. Some options that may one day be available, according to my searching, include @memelord, @phone, @gr0k and @AIchat. The exact process for acquiring one of these, though, isn’t exactly clear. X says that handles on your watchlist “may be released in a public drop where you, and others can apply to receive the handle for free via a merit based application system.” The company has also said that it will make some especially sought-after handles available for purchase on an invitation-only basis, with prices “anywhere from $2,500 to over seven figures.”

After a bit of perusing, I did find that there were a few entertaining options that are theoretically available now as “priority” handles, including @six_seven, @elonfarts, @grokfacts and @kbchat. Honestly, all of these were at least a little tempting, though I’m not at all confident X would approve @elonfarts or @grokfacts. You also have to consider these requests at least a little carefully because X is only giving users the ability to request one priority handle during the entire lifetime of their account.

There are also some significant strings attached to the whole process. In addition to being required to maintain a $40/month or $395/year Premium+ subscription, X has a rather strict set of rules for “maintaining your handle.” These include:

-Create content regularly. If an account is active but the associated handle remains largely dormant – for example, where little or no original or engaging content is published – X may reclaim the handle.

-Use the handle in a way that reflects the spirit of participation and expression on X.  That means active involvement in platform activities (replying, reposting, discussing topics) that help build a vibrant community for sharing ideas and expressions.  X’s intent is to ensure that handles remain available for active voices and creators who help advance the mission of the platform, not for speculation or inactivity.

-Ensure regular activity on the platform, with a minimum of 1 device login within a 30 day period. For details, see our Inactive Account Policy.

The terms also state that “X owns and can reclaim any handle,” which is more than theoretical. The company has a long history of commandeering desirable handles from users that were actively using them including, infamously, @X.

Given all that, I still have yet to follow through on requesting any of the available “priority” handles I’ve found. I might just stick with the same handle (@karissabe) I’ve been using for the last 16 years. It’s only two letters off from the supposed “rare” variation of my first name only, and it won’t cost anything extra to keep.

X is finally following through on its long-rumored plans to sell old user handles, and some of the most sought-after usernames could fetch millions of dollars. The company shared more details about and opened a waitlist for its “handle marketplace,” that will enable paying subscribers to request and buy “inactive” handles.

According to the company, X will make two types of “inactive’ handles available: “priority” usernames that may include “full names, multi-word phrases, or alphanumeric combinations” and “rare” handles that consist of “short, generic, or culturally significant names.” Subscribers to X’s Premium+ and Premium Business tiers will eventually be able to request some “priority” handles as part of their subscription. The company says @PizzaEater and @GabrielJones are possible examples of such handles. Notably, this process requires what essentially amounts to an indefinite subscription to X Premium, as the company says it will revoke priority handles if an account’s subscription lapses.

The process for acquiring a “rare” handle is a lot less clear. X says that it will offer some rare handles through “public drops” and that those will be given away for free “based on merit” and that multiple users will be able to apply. X will take a user’s engagement and “past contributions” to the platform into account when deciding who gets these handles. The company will also make some handles available for sale via an invitation-only process. These prices will be “fixed” and “determined by a number of factors including popularity of word, character length, and cultural significance.” These usernames could include common one-word usernames like @one, @fly or @compute, according to examples provided by X. They could also be incredibly expensive.

“Some handles are included with a Premium+ or Premium Business subscription,” X wrote in an FAQ. “Others – especially Rare handles – may be priced anywhere from $2,500 to over seven figures, depending on demand and uniqueness.” People who buy a supposedly rare handle will need to have a Premium+ or Premium Business subscription in order to start the process, but won’t be required to maintain one in order to keep the handle.

In a separate “handle transfer agreement,” X describes its handle-buying scheme as an “evolving initiative” that it hopes will be adopted by other social media companies in the future. “We are establishing a new standard for social media handles—a framework we hope the broader industry will adopt, similar to how Community Notes has influenced online transparency,” the company wrote.

Andrew Allemann, the publisher of Domain Name Wire, a publication that tracks the domain name industry, says that there are some similarities between X’s plan to sell handles and the marketplace for expired domains. “For a long time, people have been buying and selling handles off of X, and X hasn’t been getting a cut of that,” he told Engadget. “So in some ways, I think this will get some of the better handles to be more used on the platform.”

But he said he would have concerns about some of the terms in X’s policies, which allow it to “reclaim” handles if they become inactive. The company’s current “inactive account policy” defines an inactive account as one that hasn’t been logged into for 30 days. “I would definitely want a firmer contract if I were to pay money for a handle,” Allemann says. “I would want some rights baked into a contract that says it can’t just be taken away. I certainly want a longer period of inactivity before it can be taken away.”

X also has a history of commandeering desirable handles from users that were actively using them. The company took the @X handle from a San Francisco photographer in 2023 without compensating him, though he was offered “merch” and a tour of X’s headquarters. That same year, it also took the @music handle from a longtime user with more than a half million followers. Last year, the company swiped the @America handle from a reported Donald Trump critic. The handle is now used by Musk’s super PAC.

X’s plan to give away handles based on “merit” raises additional questions about who the platform could decide to reward and penalize. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Allemann says that all social media users should remember they don’t own any of the content they publish on company platforms. “If you create your website, you control it, and people can always come to it. On social media, the single billionaire owner of it could decide they don’t like you, and it’s pretty much within their rights to kick you off, or demote you, or change the algorithm to impact you as well.”

Have a tip for Karissa? You can reach her by email, on X, Bluesky, Threads, or send a message to @karissabe.51 to chat confidentially on Signal.