Claim a Ghost Profile

This guide is for the case where a public profile already exists for you, but it has no account. That public profile is a ghost. You claim it so that it becomes yours.

Prerequisites

You have a NUU account and you can sign in.
You do not already have a public profile. If you created one from scratch, you cannot claim a ghost.
You know, or you can search for, the ghost that names you.

If you need the idea first, read About Ghosts and Claims.

Find the ghost

Search by display name or handle. Only live ghosts are available to claim. A public profile that already has an owner is not a ghost.

Open the ghost if you want to read the full record before you send a claim.

Request the claim

Send a claim for that ghost. The service records a pending request.

You can have one pending claim per ghost. If a request is already pending, wait for review. You can cancel your own pending claim from your profile.

If you are not signed in, sign in first. If your account is not set up yet, open your profile once so the service can create it, then send the claim.

Wait for review

An admin reviews the claim. You do not approve it yourself.

While the claim is pending, the ghost stays a ghost. Managers can still edit it. Other products that already name that ghost keep using it.

If the admin rejects the claim, the ghost stays unclaimed. You can create a public profile from scratch instead. See Set Up Your Profile.

What you get after approval

When the admin approves the claim, the ghost becomes your public profile.

Your account points at that public profile.
Empty fields on your account fill from the ghost.
Your NUU account username becomes the handle when it is free. If you have no username, a handle on the ghost can stay.
You become the owner. Managers lose edit access.
Any groups on an old public profile move with you.

Open your profile. You should see the claimed record. Edit it as the owner. Other products that stored the ghost identity now show you.