Twitter has announced its ‘Twitter Blue’ paid verification system is now globally available.
Twitter Blue offers a number of user-facing features (see below), but the primary reason people are asked to pay for verification, is to help the platform cut down on bots. This works by elevating content from those users who are verified, meaning you are more likely to see content from verified users over non-verified.
Twitter Blue subscribers who joined for $7.99 on iOS will be notified by Apple that their subscription will be automatically renewed for $11/month or $114.99/year (or your local pricing) unless they choose to cancel their subscription.
Those who initially subscribed on iOS for $2.99 or $4.99/month will need to upgrade their subscription for $8/month or $84/year on web, or $11/month or $114.99/year on iOS (or the local pricing), or lose their subscription. These prices are in US dollars.
Twitter’s owner Elon Musk has posted recently that the company is on a path to profitability by the end of 2023, so there are definitely commercial motivations to this move as well.
Twitter Blue includes the following features:
- Edit Tweet: This highly requested feature gives you a 30 minute window to make a limited number of changes to published Tweets. Use it to make updates, tag someone, or reorder the media you attached. Edit Tweet currently only applies to original Tweets and quote Tweets.
- Bookmark Folders: Bookmark Folders let Twitter Blue subscribers group and organize Bookmarked Tweets into folders for faster discovery later. Twitter Blue allows you an unlimited number of bookmarks and Bookmark Folders which are always private.
- Custom app icons: With Custom App icons, you can change how your Twitter App icon displays on your phone. Choose from several colorful options. Check your settings regularly for new featured looks available for a limited time.
- NFT Profile Pictures: We’re adding NFTs as one of several ways to customize your Twitter profile so you can show off the NFTs you own in a hex-shaped profile picture on your Twitter account. After a temporary connection to your crypto wallet that allows you to set up an NFT as your profile picture, your digital asset displays in a special hexagon shape that identifies you as the owner of that NFT.
- Themes: Twitter Blue Themes let you choose from colorful options for your app theme.
- Custom navigation: This feature lets you choose what appears in your navigation bar, so you get quick access to the content and Twitter destinations you care about most. You can select at least 2 and up to 6 items to keep in your bottom navigation bar or restore to default if you change your mind.
- Spaces Tab: We’re testing a new interface within Spaces that gives easier access to audio content. The new Spaces Tab is a place to find podcasts, themed audio stations, recorded Spaces, and live Spaces. This feature test requires in-app language settings to display in English. It’s currently only available to Twitter Blue subscribers on iOS and Android devices, and a select number of people globally. Learn more about Spaces and this early access test of the new Spaces Tab.
- Top Articles: Top Articles is a shortcut to the most-shared articles in your network. This feature automatically lists the most-shared articles from people you follow—and people they follow, too—so you can easily find the type of content you want to read.
- Reader: Turn long threads into a more beautiful reading experience. We’ve designed Reader to let you enjoy your threads with less noise. Turn the Reader feature on when you tap the reader icon at the top of the thread, or use it to change your text size.
- Undo Tweet: Undo Tweet gives you the option to retract a Tweet after you send it, but before it’s visible to others on Twitter. It’s not an edit* button, but a chance to preview and revise your Tweet before it’s posted for the world to see. Once the Undo period is over, the Tweet is viewable to your followers and you can either leave it or delete it, like you normally would on Twitter.
- Prioritized rankings in conversations: This feature prioritizes your replies on Tweets that you interact with.
- Longer video upload: Share more content with your followers. Twitter Blue subscribers can upload videos up to ~60 minutes long up to 2GB file size (1080p) (web only). Learn more here.
- Half ads: Coming soon!
- Longer Tweets: Want to Tweet more than 280 characters? Longer Tweets allow Blue subscribers to Tweet up to 4,000 characters. You can also compose longer Tweets in a Quote Tweet or reply. Standard functionality like posting media, creating polls, and using hashtags still apply. Everyone will be able to read longer Tweets, but only Blue subscribers can create them.
- SMS two-factor authentication: As a Twitter Blue subscriber, you can add another layer of protection to your account with access to two-factor authentication via SMS. Please note that availability of text message two-factor authentication for Twitter Blue may vary by country and carrier.
It was previously understood that as the new Twitter Blue was rolled out, that legacy verification would be removed and therefore those who previously had the blue checkmark would need to begin paying. Today at least, I can confirm that Verified legacy accounts still have the checkmark.
Back in February, Meta also announced paid verification on their platform, however as indicated in this post, Twitter has committed to building a payment system for content creators who chose to publish content on their platform.
At the time I applied for Subscriptions, allowing people who consume my content to contribute donations, and as we near the end of March, that application is still waiting. When you visit the page on Twitter, it still lists ‘Creator applications coming soon’.
