Yahoo! Launches “Watchlist” to Recycle Old Usernames

Yahoo's quest to reclaim old usernames continues with the launch of Watchlist, a service that will send a notification to a user once an unused name becomes available.

Those who filled out a Yahoo! username wish list by Aug. 7 can find out this week if the name they wanted is available. But for those who missed the deadline, users can add up to five usernames to Watchlist for $1.99. Once an old username becomes available, participants will have up to 14 days to claim it.

The three most requested names for guys have been David, Michael and Alex. Ladies wanted Maria, Jennifer and Jessica.

The move is part of Yahoo's effort to delete accounts that have not been used in the last year so that others may take them. Previous username owners can rest assured that Yahoo! is working with Facebook and other services to make sure that important emails meant for the previous owner don't go to the new owner's account.

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