San Francisco: Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is introducing a new marketplace for defunct user accounts, with prices starting at $50,000.
The internal team at X, referred to as the "@Handle Team," is actively working to facilitate the sale of usernames that are no longer in use.
Recent emails from X employees have been sent to potential buyers, indicating that the company has updated its @Handle guidelines, procedures, and fees. This move comes in the wake of Musk's earlier announcement that he planned to implement such a program following his acquisition of Twitter.
Musk's acquisition of Twitter was accompanied by his intention to address the issue of a large number of usernames being taken by bots and trolls.
Reports in January 2023 indicated that Musk aimed to free up as many as 1.5 billion usernames. By May, X had already initiated the removal of inactive accounts from its platform. However, as of Forbes' report, X's username registration policy still stated that they could not release inactive usernames, and the "inactive account policy" advised users to log in every 30 days to avoid being categorised as inactive.
Beyond the sale of unused usernames, Musk envisions transforming X into a comprehensive platform, offering extensive communication and financial services.
In a recent internal meeting, Musk even hinted at the platform's potential involvement in dating services. He proposed that a person's posts on X could be a substantial indicator of their suitability for employment and even romantic connections. People have reportedly formed friendships and found potential partners based on the content of their X posts.