Twitter has been going through an overhaul since Elon Musk took charge of the social network giant. The app’s Twitter Blue subscription is getting a refresh as well and it is now launching for an updated price of $7.99. It was previously $3.99.
The biggest change to Twitter Blue is that it now puts the blue tick verification next to your name, a feature that was previously free for everyone. The premium tier also reduces the ads you see on the app and lets you post longer videos, undo tweets, edit tweets, and a lot more.
However, all of these extra features are still labeled as “coming soon” and it appears that Twitter Blue is only offering the verification checkmark for now. The $7.99 price is also tagged as a “limited-time offer” which means that the price could go up going forward.
Previously, Twitter Blue included additional context for its blue tick verification which said that accounts were verified because they were “notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category.” But now this description has been updated to “this account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue.”
Earlier this week, the social network’s verification system became quite confusing once the website started adding an “Official” label to some major accounts belonging to celebrities, politicians, popular artists, or other high-profile accounts. But after a while, Musk said that the official badge has been killed off and disappeared from everyone’s profile.
Musk has said that paid account verification is a way to curb spam and fake accounts on Twitter so the platform can become more sustainable and trustworthy. However, critics have said that this will most likely have the opposite effect since anyone could pay for Twitter Blue and appear as a verified account to scam people.
