# Similar-username warnings

> What the "similar usernames" warning means and how to respond to it.

When trackagoat detects that three or more creators in a project share a common username pattern: a shared prefix like `wyndywith*`, a shared suffix like `*_official`, or handles that are very close in spelling: it shows a **Similar usernames detected** warning on the Creator Insights page.

## Why this matters

TikTok's recommendation algorithm and API behavior can be affected by network-level account relationships. Accounts that share naming conventions, cross-promote frequently, or appear to operate as a coordinated cluster may be:

- **Grouped algorithmically**: TikTok may attribute engagement across the cluster rather than to individual accounts, affecting each creator's apparent reach.
- **Rate-limited as a group**: Scraping infrastructure can be throttled when many accounts with similar names are fetched in the same session, leading to lower scrape success rates for the whole cluster.
- **Penalized for perceived coordination**: Creators that appear to operate as sub-brands under a shared identity sometimes receive reduced organic distribution on individual videos.

> **Note: Heuristic, not a guarantee**
>
> This is a heuristic: not every similar-named cluster is penalized. But if the warning also shows a depressed scrape success rate for the group (below the project average), there is empirical evidence that the clustering is affecting data reliability.

## How to respond

**Separate projects**: Move related-named creators into their own project. This isolates their data and reduces the risk of cross-cluster throttling during scraping.

**Use campaigns for grouped attribution**: If you want to track the collective performance of a creator family (e.g. all `wyndywith*` accounts as a single campaign), create a campaign that includes all of them. Campaign analytics aggregate across members without requiring them to share a project.

**Encourage handle diversity**: When onboarding a new creator collective, suggest that each creator's handle be distinctive. This avoids triggering TikTok's network-detection heuristics and keeps scraping reliable.

**Dismiss the warning**: If you've reviewed the cluster and decided it's not a concern, use the **×** button to dismiss the alert for this project. The dismissal is stored locally per browser.

## Technical details

The detection algorithm groups handles using three strategies:

| Strategy | Detects | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Common prefix | 3+ handles sharing 5+ leading characters | `wyndywith*` |
| Common suffix | 3+ handles sharing 5+ trailing characters | `*_official` |
| Edit distance | 3+ handles within 2 character edits of each other | `brandchef` / `brendchef` |

Severity is set to **warn** when the cluster's 48-hour scrape success rate falls more than 20 percentage points below the project average. Otherwise it is shown as an informational notice.

- [Over-posting](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/over-posting.md): TikTok's daily posting limits and suppression detection.
- [Program Health](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/program-health.md): Program-wide alerts and health indicators.

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Source: https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/similar-creator-pools