A while back Yahoo announced that it was going to start cleaning up inactive accounts and begin re-releasing the usernames to the public. At the time, the company let users signup and list five names they may be interested in. Starting today, if a particular username is now available, Yahoo will begin sending out invites to customers who had a particular name as a priority.
Customers will have 48 hours to claim their new identities before the names will be passed down the line to someone else.
From Yahoo’s own personal Tumblr page:
Beginning today, you could find out if your dream Yahoo! username is now available. If you filled out the wishlist with your top five choices last month, you’ll be getting notified today about the username you’re able to claim as your very own.
The company will also be releasing a new Watchlist page so people can monitor which popular usernames have become available. Of course, that particular luxury will cost you $1.99.
If other companies would follow suit, that’d be great.
