On Monday, Twitter will relaunch its subscription service, offering users verified status for $8 (£6.50) per month or $11 per month on their iPhone.
The move comes after a botched redesign of the service last month, which resulted in a slew of impersonator accounts appearing on the platform as some users took advantage of the opportunity to launch bogus “verified” accounts for major corporations and public figures.
“We’re relaunching @TwitterBlue on Monday – subscribe on the web for $8/month or on iOS for $11/month to get access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark,” Twitter said.
we’re relaunching @TwitterBlue on Monday – subscribe on web for $8/month or on iOS for $11/month to get access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark 🧵 pic.twitter.com/DvvsLoSO50
— Twitter (@Twitter) December 10, 2022
It went on to say that users who pay $8 per month on the web or $11 per month via Apple’s app store will have a higher profile on the platform than non-payers, promising that subscribers will “rocket to the top of replies, mentions, and search.” Twitter stated that this feature would be available soon.
The blue tick service is “currently available on iOS only in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, with plans to expand,” according to Twitter’s website.
Twitter said giving priority to subscribers would help combat “scams and spam,” referring to one of the platform’s owners, Elon Musk, who tried to back out of a deal to buy the company due to his concerns about vexatious automated accounts.
Subscribers who attempt to change their handle, display name, or photo will lose their tick until their account is reviewed again, according to Twitter.
Another feature available to subscribers is the ability to edit tweets. Users will be able to edit a tweet up to 30 minutes after it is published, according to a trial launched by the company in September, shortly before Musk purchased Twitter. Other planned new features include reducing the number of advertisements by half and allowing users to post longer tweets.
The company also confirmed that a colour-coded verification scheme would be implemented, with businesses receiving a gold tick or checkmark and government accounts receiving a grey symbol.
Twitter did not explain why Apple users were being charged more than others on the web, but Musk has been vocal about the fees charged in its app store, which takes a 30% cut of sales. In a series of tweets last month, he accused Apple of threatening to remove Twitter from its app store for unspecified reasons, and he also claimed that Apple had stopped advertising on the social media platform.
Following a subsequent meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, he tweeted that the misunderstanding regarding Twitter’s removal from Apple’s app store had been resolved.
Musk has stated his desire for Twitter to be less reliant on advertising, which accounted for 90% of its $5.1 billion in revenue last year. That need has grown more pressing since Tesla CEO Elon Musk reported a “massive drop in revenue” when advertisers withdrew from the platform due to concerns about content moderation, with the spread of “verified” impostor accounts exacerbating those concerns.
