How to Change Twitter Username on Phone / PC

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A Twitter handle or username is a name that uniquely identifies individuals or organizations on Twitter. It appears after the At (@) sign in your profile and at the end of your unique Twitter URL. Since it is unique, it helps your brand remain identifiable in the crowd and is what other Twitter users use to communicate with you.

In some cases, your Twitter username may need an update. This article will discuss why your handle is so important and when you should change it. Other than that, we also bring you some quick and simple ways to change your Twitter handle.

Why & When to change your Twitter username

Why your Twitter username matters

Just like logos, punchline, colors, fonts, and other associated brand graphics, your Twitter handle is an overarching branding element that holds a special place in your followers - those prospect customers - and makes them remember you and refer to you. Your username should also be considered as a powerful property that brings SEO value to your brand. Twitter username, which is often underestimated, could be an essential part of an SEO strategy if you can leverage it.

As your brand endears itself to people, your Twitter username will become inextricably linked to it. Therefore, your handle should be interesting enough to attract attention while remaining professional and make sense based on your brand. More importantly, you should use the same username for all of your social media accounts. It helps improve your brand consistency and people to recognize your brand more easily.

When to change your Twitter username

There is no documented limit on the number of times you can change your Twitter handle and you can change it whenever you want. Changing your username did not affect the posts and interactions your account had. However, we advise you to change your username from time to time and when it is really necessary. There are several occasions when you may consider updating your Twitter handle:

• Your brand has just undergone name changes or major rebrands. In this case, there is no reason to retain your old username as it no longer well represents your brand.

• There is a shift in the purpose of your Twitter account. For example, you don’t want to focus on selling your products or services on your account anymore. Instead, you want to dedicate your account to provide customer support. That’s when you may consider changing your Twitter handle to @companynamehelp or @companynamesupport.

• Your current username is not tactical enough. You might create your account before you start your business so your username is no longer appropriate. Or even worse, you never actually set a username for your account and your Twitter handle just includes random characters by default. It is unprofessional just by the look of it.

• As we have mentioned before, your Twitter username should be consistent with those used on your other social media account. If it is not, a name change is what you may need.

Now if you do make the decision to change your Twitter handle, please bear in mind several things that help your new username become more unique and worth the change:

• Your name should include what your business is about and what people can expect from your content. Naming your Twitter account right can bring the right attention from the right types of audience to your account. Thus, it improves the quality of your audience.

• You may like to embody personality and character in your Twitter username so it truly represents your brand and makes your brand stand out from the crowd.

Once you have latched onto why your handle is important and when you need to change it, it’s time to learn how to change your Twitter username.

How to change your Twitter username on desktop

It only takes around 3 minutes to change your Twitter handle on your computer as well as on your mobile devices. Before showing you how to change your username on Twitter, I will go through some username rules that you need to follow:

• Your Twitter username should fall in the range of 4 to 15 characters.
• No spaces and special characters are allowed in your username, with an exception of underscores “_”. This means your username can only contain letters (A to Z) and numbers (0 to 9).
• The two words “Twitter” and “Admin” can not appear in your username either unless your account got verified by Twitter.

Those are just a few things to keep in mind about your Twitter handle. Now let’s get straight ahead to what you came here for - How to change your Twitter username.

Step 1: Log into your Twitter account. If you are already logged in, just skip this step.

Step 2: On the Twitter homepage, click “More” in the vertical navigation bar on the left side of your screen. A drop-up menu will appear.

Step 3: Here, select “Settings and Privacy” from the list of options. This will direct you to the Twitter settings page. To help you waste no time, we provide you with a direct link to the settings page right below: https://twitter.com/settings/account

Step 4: Now look at the first section in the list - “Your Account”. Click on “Account Information” then “Username”. You will be asked to type in your account password to proceed to the next step.

Step 5: Type your new username in the text box. There are also some suggested names available that you may consider picking up.

If the username already exists, a red border will appear around the box and a message will show up telling you may want to type in another handle. If not, the “Save” button will light up and you can proceed to the next step.

Step 6: Click “Save” and your changes will be done.

How to change your Twitter username on mobile devices

Changing your handle on mobile devices can also be done with ease. This tutorial can be applied to both Android and iOS mobile devices.

Step 1: On the Twitter app homepage, tap on the “hamburger menu” icon (three little horizontal lines) in the top left-hand corner of your screen. Scroll down and tap “Settings and privacy”.

Step 2: Select “Account” and then “Username”.

Step 3: Under “New”, type a new Twitter handle in the box.

If the username already exists, a red border will appear around the box and a message will show up telling you may want to type in another handle. If not, the “Done” button will light up and you can proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Tap “Done” and the changes will be made.

Once you finish changing your username, your followers and other Twitter users can no longer find you by your old handle. However, according to Twitter, it will not affect your follower list, direct messages, or replies.

It’s worth mentioning that once your old handle is released, it will immediately be recycled for re-registration. If you want to protect your previous username, create a new account with your old handle. Here, you can direct people to your newly named account and avoid any confusion that may occur to your followers.

Common issues with your Twitter username

Your preferred username has already been taken

In case you are unable to claim your desired handle, you may like to make some small changes to make sure you have a unique yet relevant username on Twitter. An effective method is adding underscores before, after, or in your name (@companyname, @companyname, @company_name). You may also add up numbers or letters but please take your username length into account as it will count against Twitter’s 280-character limit in tweets and replies.

Error when trying to change username, but not because the name is taken

It is a high chance that you have violated Twitter username rules. Do as the prompt states, and you are good to go. Or you can go back to the How to change your Twitter username on desktop section now to reread the rules and avoid the trouble beforehand.

Claim an inactive account’s username

Usernames of suspended or deactivated accounts can not be made available at once. You may choose to wait to grab your target username or modify it the way you want.

If the username you want is currently on hold by a seemingly inactive account, unfortunately, Twitter has yet stated the exact date when it will release these usernames. You may try contacting the account owner privately in a direct message or comment section to free up their handle for you, or select an alternative.

Change your username to the one held by your other Twitter account

This may happen if you own more than one Twitter account. If you want to move a handle between your accounts, follow the following steps:

Step 1: Log in to the account that has your preferred username. Step 2: Modify the username by adding a number or underscore to free up the username for use straight away. Step 3: Now, log into your other account and change the username to the one you’ve just released.

Change your username means a loss of verification

If you have a verified Twitter account, unfortunately, changing your Twitter username will cause a loss of your blue verified badge since Twitter doesn’t have that entry in their database anymore. Sadly, Twitter is currently not accepting new requests for verification, but they have plans to relaunch verification in 2021. So if you want to keep your verification, don’t change your username until further notice from Twitter.

Change your username without losing your followers

Although Twitter stated that changing your handle won’t affect your followers, direct messages, or replies, there still something does not seem right. As soon as the joy of finally claiming the username you want dies down, you realize that your account seems to stay off your followers’ radar. People can’t find you since your change or even scroll past your tweets because they don’t recognize that these tweets are yours. This will affect your account negatively, stunning your account growth in the long term.

We suggest that you should keep your followers in the loop by posting some tweets to tell everyone about the change. Even if you want to keep the change a secret, do something that leaves people in suspense about your change. Doing so helps your followers adjust to the change, get them excited, and create buzz around your change. Once people go around and talk about you, you will highly likely gain more followers. At the end of the day, it allows you to achieve your goals for the changes more efficiently.

Final Thoughts

Changing your Twitter handle is undoubtedly an easy-breezy task, but it can make a huge impact on your brand recognition. Whether it leads potential consumers to a new stage in their buying journey or leaves them at a dead-end depends on how you carry out the alteration. To generate a positive change, make sure the username you are going to change to, truly represents your brand, and don’t forget to inform your followers about the changes to warm them up. Having a structured approach to change your Twitter handle will make your rebranding campaign more of a breeze.