After an abrupt (but not expected) halt last month due to the rise of numerous fake accounts on the platform, Twitter Blue is officially making a comeback. In a tweet, the social media company informed that it was bringing back its subscription service on Monday, December 12.
The relaunch of Twitter Blue brings something that had earlier been reported – variable pricing. Users who subscribe to Twitter Blue on the web will cost $8 per month while signing up through the Twitter app on iPhones will add an additional $3 – a total of $11/per month. This is unsurprising – given Musk’s recent, short-lived “war” with Apple and its 30% commission for purchases made through an app or directly from the App Store. For now, the service is available in five countries and will expand to other countries over time.
“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,” read the tweet by the company. These “subscriber-only features” include the verified “blue checkmark,” which denotes that the accounts are authentic in nature. Musk had worked to expand the blue tick to all users willing to subscribe to its premium service – that is, those willing to pay $8/month.
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
The spectacular success of this experiment – or the lack of it, which led to utter chaos on the platform and numerous fake accounts popping up in a short period of time – led to Twitter halting the service last month. At least Twitter seems to have learned from its mistakes. According to Esther Crawford, Twitter’s director of product management, the company was bringing a new “review step” before applying the verified blue tick checkmark to accounts in a bid to “combat impersonation.”
On Monday we are bringing back the ability to subscribe to @TwitterBlue — it’ll be $8/mo on the web and $11/mo on iOS. We’ve added a review step before applying a blue checkmark to an account as one of our new steps to combat impersonation (which is against the Twitter Rules).
— Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) December 10, 2022
Furthermore, the relaunched Twitter Blue will come with multicolor checkmarks – something that was reported last month – and Crawford confirmed the same. Verified accounts of businesses will sport a gold checkmark, while that of governments and multilateral accounts will come with grey checkmarks. The grey “Official” label is already available on Twitter’s platform. Subscribers will, of course, be getting the blue checkmark after their account has been reviewed.
Twitter further elaborated on what kind of “subscriber-only features” it will be giving to those who subscribe to Twitter Blue. Subscribers will be able to edit tweets (a highly-anticipated feature), upload longer videos at 1080p, see fewer advertisements, and use reader mode. Furthermore, they will be able to change their display name, handle, or profile picture, but there is a catch to this one – doing so will cost them the blue checkmark for a while until their account is reviewed once more.
