It can be quite frustrating when you come up with the perfect TikTok username for yourself or your brand, only to discover it’s already been taken. You would feel even worse when you find out that the TikTok account holding that username is inactive. At times like these, you wish there was a hassle-free way to claim the TikTok username of your choice.
A deep dive into TikTok’s Inactive Account Policy reveals something interesting. It says they may free up usernames of accounts that have been inactive for 180 days or more. This may give you a hint on how to claim a TikTok username. However, it is not as easy as it sounds.
TikTok resets a person’s username to a combination of numbers when it has been inactive for over 180 days. Once that’s done, you can claim an inactive TikTok username which you may have wanted for a long. However, there’s no way to know how long an account has been inactive. And sometimes, aimlessly waiting for a username to get vacated by itself may not be an option.
The Importance of the Right TikTok Username for Brands and Individual Creators
According to Statista, TikTok’s monthly active users reached 1 billion in September 2021. So, if you are a brand or a creator, TikTok offers you direct access to a large pool of audiences. And to increase your chances of standing out in front of this audience, you need a username that’s memorable. The right TikTok username offers you several practical advantages, such as:
- Branding: If you are using TikTok for personal branding or promoting a business, a catchy and memorable username can help people find and remember you more easily.
- Discoverability: Your username is one of the primary ways that users can search for and find your content on TikTok. Thus, a unique yet relevant username makes it easier for people to discover your content.
- Professionalism: If you use TikTok to earn money, a professional username can help you make a good first impression. It can also help you stand out when it comes to sponsorships and brand collaborations.
- Consistency: Using the same username across all of your social media profiles can help establish consistency. It also makes it easier for people to find and follow you on multiple platforms.
How to Claim a TikTok Username?
The most important criterion when it comes to claiming a TikTok username is that the account whose username you wish to have must be inactive. You cannot make a TikTok username claim on an active account. Having said that, here are a few ways to claim an inactive TikTok username:
1. Reach out to the user
A user with an inactive TikTok account may be willing to give you the username for free or a certain price. However, the toughest part of a TikTok username claim through this process is contacting the inactive account’s user. As these accounts are now inactive, they may not see or respond to your messages.
There is another potential drawback of taking this route. If the user responds to your message, their account will now become active once again. Now, if you fail to convince them to give up their username, you will hinder your chances of claiming that TikTok username through other methods as well.
2. File a claim
If you own the rights to a certain TikTok username, such as a trademarked brand name, you can file a claim with TikTok. Alternatively, if the username is already inactive, you can try writing to TikTok support. You need to explain why the username is critical to you or your company. If you manage to convince the authorities, they may agree to your TikTok username claim request.
3. Contact the experts
Finally, the smoothest and most hassle-free way to claim a TikTok username is by contacting an expert agency like Digital Nod. We can claim an inactive TikTok username of your choice for you in 1-4 weeks. We can even claim generic usernames, such as @banana or @candy, provided they belong to inactive accounts. Over the years, we have helped countless brands and individual creators claim their desired usernames. Just recently, we helped a reputed beverage company claim a TikTok username of their choice.
Final Words
It’s evident that the right TikTok username can help you kickstart your path to success, eventually leading the way to the TikTok blue check. But TikTok does not provide information about inactive usernames publicly. So, you may find it difficult to ascertain if an account is inactive and, if yes, for how long. However, you can always depend on experts like Digital Nod to claim the TikTok username you want.
