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Twitter made two big announcements today. Firstly, its premium subscription service Twitter Blue is now available globally. Anyone can pay the company to unlock some extra features and add a blue tick next to their handle. Second, the social network is removing legacy verified checkmarks starting on April 1. Accounts that were verified before Elon Musk took over the company will lose their blue checkmarks unless they subscribe to Twitter Blue.
Both of these changes have been a long-time coming. By a long time, we mean since Twitter changed ownership in late October 2022. Elon Musk made it clear that the company will scrap the existing account verification system and will instead sell the blue tick as part of Twitter Blue, which he sees as a big revenue stream. “The way in which they were given out was corrupt and nonsensical,” the billionaire said about the legacy checkmarks said in December. He repeated the “corrupt” remark last month too.
The first part of the plan was to make Twitter Blue available for everyone before removing the legacy blue ticks. The firm has rapidly expanded the subscription system in recent months, finally bringing it to Android in January this year. Today, the service has gone global. “Twitter Blue is now available globally! Sign up today to get your blue checkmark, prioritized ranking in conversations, half ads, long Tweets, Bookmark Folders, custom navigation, Edit Tweet, Undo Tweet, and more,” Twitter Blue tweeted Thursday afternoon.
Twitter will start removing legacy blue checkmarks on April Fool’s Day
With the subscription service available globally, Twitter has announced the second part of the plan as well. Starting this April Fool’s Day, it will no longer honor the coveted checkmark that users earned after meeting several criteria established by the company. Instead, it is forcing them to buy a Twitter Blue subscription to keep the blue tick. “On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue,” Twitter Verified tweeted just hours later.
Twitter Blue costs $8 a month ($11 a month if you subscribe through the Android or iOS app). It gives you everything that the company mentioned in the tweet above. You need to verify your identity with a phone number for the blue tick, though. For governmental and organizational accounts, Twitter has introduced a new grey checkmark. Heads of state, ministers, national-level cabinet members, official spokespersons, company headquarters, regional and country-level institutional accounts, and multilateral individuals are among those eligible for grey checkmarks.
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