If you’ve had your eye on a specific Twitter username tied to an inactive account, you may get a shot at actually obtaining it in the near future.
Update: Twitter has confirmed on November 27 that it will be delaying its plan to remove inactive accounts and free up usernames as it works out a way to memorialize users who have passed away.
The original article continues below.
Twitter is currently sending out emails to addresses associated with inactive accounts on the platform (via Dave Lee), informing the account owner that they need to sign in by Wednesday, December 11, 2019, or the account’s history and username will be revoked. The username will then be free to go to anyone who wants it.
According to The Verge, any account that hasn’t signed in for more than six months will be getting the email from Twitter.
As part of our commitment to serve the public conversation, we’re working to clean up inactive accounts to present more accurate, credible information people can trust across Twitter. Part of this effort is encouraging people to actively log-in and use Twitter when they register an account, as stated in our inactive accounts policy,” a spokesperson told The Verge by email. “We have begun proactive outreach to many accounts who have not logged into Twitter in over six months to inform them that their accounts may be permanently removed due to prolonged inactivity.
So the clean up starts in December, but when might you be able to get your hands on that unused Twitter username? Unfortunately that remains unclear. And it’s worth noting that the account could technically stay inactive on the platform, just as long as the person who owns it logs in before the cut-off date.
And it’s also worth noting that any account that has a username that’s fewer than five characters is no longer supported by Twitter at all, so those won’t be an option at all even if the owner doesn’t keep up.
Here’s the email text:
Hello,
To continue using Twitter, you’ll need to agree to the current Terms, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Use. This not only lets you make the best decisions about the information that you share with us, it also allows you to keep using your Twitter account. But first, you need to log in and follow the on-screen prompts before Dec. 11, 2019, otherwise your account will be removed from Twitter.
Something to be aware of, especially if you haven’t logged into Twitter recently but don’t necessarily want to give up your username just yet.