In the almost 20-year history of Twitter and X, a long list of unused usernames has piled up. Elon Musk's company now wants to redistribute them – but not for free. — Photo: Jennifer Brückner/dpa
WASHINGTON: Tech billionaire Elon Musk is pushing ahead with the monetisation of the social media platform previously known as Twitter, launching a marketplace on X for redistributing unused profile names, initially available only to paying subscribers.
X will categorise usernames, known as handles, into two groups. "Priority handles," consisting of names or word combinations, can be requested for free by subscribers of the Premium Business and Premium+ tiers, which cost US$40 or €38 (RM168) per month.
A response confirming the use of the handle is expected within three days. However, if the user cancels or downgrades their subscription, their profile will revert to their original account names.
For "rare usernames," such as short or unique handles like "@Tom" or "@Pizza," a different process will apply. These will either be sold by invitation from X or made available on merit through public application processes.
Purchased usernames will remain with users even if their premium subscriptions expire.
Musk, who acquired Twitter for US$44bil (RM185bil) nearly three years ago and rebranded it as X, had earlier announced plans to release usernames tied to inactive accounts.
Musk, announcing the sale of handles, again highlighted the platform's efforts to innovate and monetise its services. The announcement comes as X continues to explore new revenue streams and expand its offerings for premium users. – dpa
