What you can change and what stays the same

X lets you change two things about how your name appears: your display name (the readable name people see on your profile) and your handle (the @username that comes after the @ symbol). You can change your display name as often as you want with no restrictions. Your handle can be changed once every 30 days, and changing it does not affect your followers, likes, or replies — they stay attached to your account.

The handle change is the one that matters for security. If someone has been harassing you or you want to distance yourself from an old online identity, changing your handle makes your old @username available for someone else to claim. This is why you might want to do it: to prevent an impersonator from taking over the name you used to use, or to start fresh with a new identity that does not link to your old posts.

Your display name is just cosmetic. You can change it back and forth without waiting, so many people use it to add temporary information — a location, a cause they support, or a joke — without any lasting effect on the account itself.

Key Takeaways

  • Your display name can be changed at any time with no waiting period, but your handle (@username) can only be changed once every 30 days.
  • Changing your handle does not delete your account, followers, or posts — it just gives you a new @username while keeping everything else the same.
  • If you change your handle, your old @username becomes available for someone else to register within a few minutes, so do this only if you want to let it go.
  • Both changes are made in the same settings menu under Account Information, and you do not need to log out or restart the app to see the change take effect.

How to change your display name

Open X on your phone or computer and tap or click your profile picture in the top left corner. Select Settings and privacy from the menu that appears. Tap or click Account, then Account information. You will see a field labeled Name — this is your display name. Tap or click it, delete the current text, type your new name, and tap or click Save.

X allows up to 50 characters for your display name, including spaces and symbols. The change takes effect when ready. Anyone viewing your profile will see the new name right away, and it will appear on all your past posts and replies as well.

How to change your handle

Go to Settings and privacy > Account > Account information again. Below the Name field, you will see a field labeled Username — this is your handle. Tap or click it to edit. Type your new handle without the @ symbol. X will check whether the name is available and show you a green checkmark if it is. Tap or click Save.

Handles must be between 4 and 15 characters long and can contain letters, numbers, and underscores only — no spaces or special characters. If the handle you want is taken, X will tell you when ready. You will see a message saying you can change your handle again in 30 days if you have changed it recently.

After you save a new handle, your old one becomes available for anyone else to register. This usually happens within a few minutes. If you are changing your handle to prevent someone from impersonating you, monitor your old handle for a day or two — if someone registers it, you can report the account to X for impersonation.

Why you might want to change your handle for safety

If you are leaving a community, leaving a job, or stepping away from a public identity, changing your handle can help you make a clean break. Your old handle will no longer point to your account, so people searching for your old name will not find you. This is useful if you were harassed under that handle or if you want to separate your current identity from your past online presence.

The downside is that your old handle becomes available when ready. If someone was harassing you, they might register your old handle themselves to impersonate you or confuse people looking for you. To prevent this, you can change your handle to something random or unusual that is unlikely to appeal to an impersonator, then change it again 30 days later to the name you actually want. This uses up your 30-day window but keeps your old handle from being useful to anyone else.

Changing your handle does not hide your post history. Anyone who knows your new handle can still see everything you posted under your old one. If you need to delete posts, you will have to do that separately.

What happens to your followers and posts when you change your handle

Your followers stay with you. When you change your handle, everyone who was following you continues to follow your account under the new handle. You do not lose followers, and they do not have to re-follow you. The same is true for likes, replies, and retweets — they all stay attached to your account.

Your posts do not move or disappear. All your past tweets remain on your profile under your new handle. If someone has a link to one of your old posts, that link will still work and will show your new handle. The only thing that changes is the @username that appears next to your name.

Troubleshooting handle and name changes

If you see a message that your handle is unavailable, it means someone else has already registered it. Try a variation — add a number, an underscore, or a short word. If you see a message that you have to wait to change your handle again, you have already changed it within the last 30 days. X enforces this limit strictly, and there is no way around it.

If your display name or handle change does not appear when ready, try closing the X app completely and opening it again. On a computer, refresh the page. If the change still does not show after a few minutes, log out and log back in. Changes usually take effect within seconds, but a refresh or restart can help if the app is showing cached information.

If you changed your handle and now see an account with your old handle that you do not recognize, that is someone else who registered it. You can report the account if it is impersonating you — tap or click the three dots on their profile, select Report @[handle], and choose It's impersonating me or someone I know. X will review the report, though they do not always remove accounts unless the impersonation is causing active harm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my handle more than once every 30 days?

No. X limits handle changes to once per 30 days. If you have already changed your handle recently, you will have to wait until the 30-day window closes before you can change it again. There is no way to bypass this limit.

If I change my handle, will people who tag me in posts still be able to find me?

Yes. Tags are attached to your account, not to your handle. If someone tags you with your old handle after you change it, the tag will still work and will point to your new account. However, if someone tries to tag you using your old handle after someone else has registered it, the tag will point to the new account holder instead.

What if I want to change my handle back to what it was before?

You can change your handle back, but you have to wait 30 days from your last change. If someone else has registered your old handle in the meantime, you will not be able to reclaim it unless they give it up or X removes their account.

Does changing my display name affect my handle?

No. Your display name and handle are separate. You can change your display name as many times as you want without affecting your handle, and changing your handle does not change your display name.

Can I use special characters or spaces in my handle?

No. Handles can only contain letters (A–Z, a–z), numbers (0–9), and underscores. Spaces, periods, hyphens, and other symbols are not allowed. Your display name, however, can include any character you want.