X’s plan to make money by selling dormant usernames on the service is beginning to shape. According to a recent change found in X’s web application, the company has set up a “handle inquiry” process where validated organizations that already have an X subscription of $1,000 per month (other organizations that already have an X subscription) can bid on abandoned X handles. According to FAQs discovered on web apps, these bids start at $10,000 and can range from $500,000 or more.
The update was first discovered by reverse engineer Nima Owji, and told TechCrunch he saw changes to the web app come out on Wednesday. However, websites that organizations can obtain handles are not yet available to the public.
The idea of making money by selling handles was something that came up before under Elon Musk’s ownership. The New York Times reported in January 2023 that a company, then known as Twitter, was considering setting up an online auction process to bid on the handle.
Musk has long supported the idea of freeing X’s namespace for active users, as it had already deleted many inactive accounts on its service in May 2023.
In November 2023, Forbes reported that X was actively soliciting buyers who might be interested in obtaining unused handles, but no official announcement was made. The documentation on X’s inactive accounts states that the company “cannot release inactive usernames at this time”, but there are some reports that it purchases usernames with X outside of the official process.
By allowing businesses to officially purchase their desired username, X can generate separate revenue streams outside of subscription, advertising, and developer access. This move could also encourage other X users to continue posting if they don’t want the handle to be dormant.
So far, the FAQ details answers to some common questions an X user may have about the process, such as how X users start enquiries on handles, what the sales process is like, and how the transfer works.
As explained on a still-private website, interested users will work with the Auto Support Bot to launch an inquiry about the username to purchase, and X will respond if the handle is available within 3 business days. After the handle is purchased, it can be transferred to the new owner within a day or two, or moved to another account that the business already owns, the FAQ says.
Depending on the number and size of the quote, discounts may also be available to those who purchase multiple handles at once.
X was asked to comment on the plan regarding the handle but did not respond.