Launch of the $7.99 New Twitter Blue Subscription

 

Since Elon Musk took over as the social network's CEO, Twitter has undergone a redesign. The Twitter Blue subscription for the app is also receiving an update, and it is now available for an updated price of $7.99. Prior to that, it cost $3.99. The most significant change to Twitter Blue is the addition of the previously free blue tick verification next to your name. Additionally, the premium tier allows you to post longer videos, delete or edit tweets, and do a lot more. It also reduces the number of ads you see on the app.

All of these additional services, however, are still listed as "coming soon," and it seems that Twitter Blue is just presently providing the verification checkmark. Additionally, the $7.99 price is marked as a "limited-time deal," which suggests that it might increase in the future.

When accounts received a blue tick for verification in the past, Twitter Blue would also explain that they had been verified because they were "notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category." This account is verified because it is a subscriber to Twitter Blue, according to the most recent update to this description.

All of these additional services, however, are still listed as "coming soon," and it seems that Twitter Blue is just presently providing the verification checkmark. Additionally, the $7.99 price is marked as a "limited-time deal," which suggests that it might increase in the future.

When accounts received a blue tick for verification in the past, Twitter Blue would also explain that they had been verified because they were "notable in government, news, entertainment, or another specified category." This account is verified because it is a subscriber to Twitter Blue, according to the most recent update to this description.

The blue verification checkmark will now be added to accounts that applied through Twitter's free verification process, according to an in-app iOS notification seen by TechCrunch. However, the New York Times claims that verification may not take place until after Tuesday's midterm elections. Other advantages promised as "coming soon" include the capacity to submit longer videos to Twitter and the ability to theoretically "double as relevant" advertising (Blue previously completely removed adverts). By the way, it's unclear exactly how long those videos can be. The language describing the new Twitter Blue is vague.

According to early indications, the new pay-to-play verification system is unrestricted; once a user pays for the new Blue, Twitter doesn't appear to be verifying who runs an account. In order to highlight the faults in the protocols, comedians Kathy Griffin and Sarah Silverman instantly constructed spoof Elon Musk handles. However, once Musk unilaterally decided to start permanently banning users who don't make it clear that their accounts are satirical, their accounts were later suspended. In a subsequent tweet, Musk promised that this will be made clear as a requirement for joining Twitter Blue.

In the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The new Twitter Blue debuts initially on iOS and follows significant layoffs at Twitter that affected around half of the company's workforce, including personnel on crucial human rights, accessibility, AI ethics, and curation teams. Twitter faces an estimated $1 billion in interest payments annually on its $13 billion in debt, according to Musk, who also argues that the company must make the cuts in addition to introducing new paid features in order to become profitable.

It's probably going to be a struggle. According to data from analytics company Sensor Tower, the largest in-app purchase on Twitter's app to far was Blue, which brought in $6.4 million. And while Jason Calacanis' poll was hardly scientific, the majority of participants said they would not pay any money for verification.