{"id":26689,"date":"2024-01-05T16:33:27","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T00:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=26689"},"modified":"2024-01-08T16:34:06","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T00:34:06","slug":"how-to-claim-an-inactive-username","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/how-to-claim-an-inactive-username\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Claim an Inactive Username\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you want to get ahead as a personal brand or while growing a business, it\u2019s important to have a strong social media presence.&nbsp; But when you jump on Instagram or Twitter to register your chosen username, you\u2019ll almost certainly find that your handle is already taken.&nbsp; That\u2019s because more than 1.6 billion handles on Instagram (and over a billion on TikTok) have already been claimed.&nbsp; Don\u2019t give up, however, if your chosen username belongs to an inactive account.&nbsp; There are ways to claim an inactive Twitter username, Instagram handle or account from most of the major social media platforms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are the Signs of an Inactive Account?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The platforms themselves are reluctant to publish the numbers, but estimates put the percentage of inactive accounts in double figures.&nbsp; Inactive accounts share many similarities with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/7-common-catfishing-apps-to-know\/amp\/\">catfish and scam accounts<\/a>.&nbsp; There\u2019s either no photo or recent photos, and very little in the way of bio information, posts or followers.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An account could be inactive for a number of reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The user simply forgets about an account they created.&nbsp; The average American has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.demandsage.com\/social-media-users\/#:~:text=How%20Many%20Accounts%20Does%20An,around%20the%20world%20is%208.5.\">seven social media accounts<\/a>, after all.&nbsp; You can find out any accounts still registered to your own email address or phone number with a quick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/username-search\">Spokeo search<\/a>.&nbsp; Surprise yourself!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People die.&nbsp; It\u2019s a sobering thought, but the lives we curate online will outlast us.&nbsp; You can ask Facebook and Instagram to \u201cmemorialize\u201d accounts that have reached the final curtain, and Twitter will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/2023\/05\/18\/what-happens-to-your-social-media-accounts-after-you-die\">delete an account<\/a> if a friend or family member can provide valid ID and a copy of a death certificate.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Investors register usernames and handles in order to flip them for money.&nbsp; An instantly recognizable name that matches a celebrity, TV show or location can be worth thousands of dollars and there are thriving <a href=\"https:\/\/aigrow.me\/instagram-usernames-for-sale\/\">marketplaces for buying usernames<\/a> (but beware of scammers).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Get Your Hands on a Handle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The simplest way to claim an inactive username is to hope that the owner is a) real; b) alive; and c) online, and to reach out directly.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Leave a comment beneath their posts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Slide into their DMs with a message.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check for any contact details listed in their bio (like an email address or website).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s your pitch?&nbsp; It\u2019s probably best to appeal to their goodwill by explaining why the handle is important to you, and asking them to sacrifice or change theirs.&nbsp; But, there are several ways you can go in heavy as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to claim an inactive Instagram username<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Both Instagram and Facebook are operated by Meta, so the process is similar for claiming a handle.&nbsp; You\u2019ll have to reach out to customer support to report an account as inactive and wait for your claim to be reviewed.&nbsp; If your claim is successful, you can then recreate your handle from scratch using your login credentials.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no official word on the subject, but it is believed that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.remote.tools\/remote-work\/does-instagram-delete-inactive-accounts\">Instagram deletes inactive accounts<\/a> after one to two years.&nbsp; So if the user name is still live, that means the owner has at least logged in, scrolled or liked a post relatively recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to claim or change a Twitter handle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The controversy is still raging about Twitter\u2019s intention to purge thousands of inactive accounts.&nbsp; The company advises users to log on <a href=\"https:\/\/help.twitter.com\/en\/rules-and-policies\/inactive-twitter-accounts\">at least every 30 days<\/a> to avoid being flagged as inactive.&nbsp; Again, contact customer support to stake your claim.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like many other platforms, Twitter offers \u201cblue tick,\u201d or verified status.&nbsp; If you\u2019re a business or public figure whose trademarked or copyrighted name is being used by an inactive account, you can file a trademark claim with customer support to wrest back control.&nbsp; They will ask you to prove your ID and trademark credentials.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Claiming an inactive TikTok username<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Company policy is to delete <a href=\"https:\/\/support.tiktok.com\/en\/safety-hc\/account-and-user-safety\/inactive-account-policy\">inactive accounts after 180 days<\/a>, which is an eternity in TikTok years.&nbsp; As above, you should make your request through customer support.&nbsp; One catch is that TikTok allows any user to change their name once every 30 days (and go back to previous versions).&nbsp; Therefore, if you want to claim an inactive TikTok handle, make sure you haven\u2019t changed your own username within the last 30 days.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Inactive accounts on other popular platforms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Snapchat doesn\u2019t delete inactive accounts, so there may be a backlog of \u201cghost\u201d handles to navigate, whereas Pinterest will make inactive accounts available as soon as <a href=\"https:\/\/help.pinterest.com\/en\/article\/deactivate-or-close-your-account#:~:text=14%20days%20after%20you%20close,be%20tied%20to%20your%20account.\">14 days<\/a> after the original user deletes their account.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Find the Owner Using Spokeo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Seasoned social media users will know that even the most popular apps are infamous for their poor customer support.&nbsp; Getting a ban overturned, reporting a scammer or securing justice for a stolen trademark can be a slow, frustrating experience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So there\u2019s good news if you heave a sigh each time you read \u201ccontact customer support\u201d in the previous paragraphs.&nbsp; You can bypass the process entirely and get straight to the facts with Spokeo.&nbsp; All you need to do is reverse search the details available, whether it\u2019s the phone number or email address linked to the account.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your search returns a match, you can then get in contact with the inactive user through your channel of choice without having to go through the platform itself.&nbsp; You\u2019re not spooking anyone with Spokeo, either.&nbsp; Any information you uncover is publicly available.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you want to get ahead as a personal brand or while growing a business, it\u2019s important to have a strong social media presence.&nbsp; But when you jump on Instagram&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":26690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[612],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Claim an Inactive Username | Spokeo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You\u2019ve found the perfect handle for your social media account, but it\u2019s already taken. 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