What's to prevent someone from hijacking my username? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by YourHuckleberry@lemmy.world to c/fediverse@lemmy.world

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Since usernames are only unique to the instance it's created on, what's to stop someone from creating a copycat username in order to impersonate another user?

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[-] jalda@sopuli.xyz 26 points 1 year ago

This "problem" isn't new or unique to the Fediverse, or even to the Internet. It's much much older. What's to prevent someone from hijacking your name?

Most societies converged to a simple solution: surnames. The Fediverse is not different. "YourHuckleberry" is your username and "@lemmy.world" your usersurname. It is impossible to hijack your name+surname.