Twitter is set to relaunch the Twitter Blue subscription service on Monday. After speculation, the company officially made the announcement this weekend. Twitter Blue will offer a handful of features at launch, including blue checkmarks for subscribers. Those users who subscribe via Twitter for iOS, however, will pay a higher price than those who subscribe via the Twitter website…
What to expect from Twitter Blue for $8 (or $11)
The headlining feature of Twitter Blue will be the addition of a blue checkmark for the profiles of users who subscribe. While Twitter briefly launched this capability last month, it was rolled back after major issues around impersonation. This time, Twitter says it’s doing a few things that it hopes will crack down on impersonation.
To receive the blue checkmark after subscribing to Twitter Blue, your Twitter account will require a verified phone number. The checkmark will appear after your account “has been reviewed,” but it’s unclear what exactly this review process will entail. Furthermore, if you change your Twitter handle, display name, or profile photo, your blue checkmark will be removed until your account is reviewed again.
To help denote between Twitter Blue subscribers and other brand accounts, Twitter says it will be using a gold checkmark for businesses. “Government and multilateral accounts” will receive a gray checkmark. The new gold checkmark is rolling out now, and the gray checkmark will launch “later in the week.”
The blue checkmark is clearly what Twitter believes will be the biggest feature of Twitter Blue. At launch, the subscription will offer support for editing tweets and “early access” to other “select new features.”
Top comment by Gazoobee
Disappointed by the new character limit. You can track the relative "goodness" of Twitter in direct inverse proportion to the character limit. As the tweets get longer and longer, so the service gets shabbier and stupider. It was cool back in the beginning but I guess those days are long gone.
At some point in the future, Twitter says Twitter Blue will also offer support for posting longer videos as well as for uploading in 1080p. Twitter also says that replies from Twitter Blue accounts “will be prioritized” in mentions and search. Twitter Blue subscribers will also “see half the ads.” Again, these are features the company says are “coming soon.”
Meanwhile, Elon Musk has also confirmed that Twitter plans to increase the maximum tweet length limit to 4,000 characters. This is a major increase from the existing 280-character limit. There’s no word on when this change will launch. It’s also unclear if longer tweets will be available to everyone or just Twitter Blue subscribers.
Twitter Blue will cost $8 per month if you subscribe via the Twitter website. If you choose to subscribe via Twitter for iOS, Twitter is charging $11 per month to offset App Store fees. There are benefits of subscribing via Apple’s system, including not having to share your billing and payment information with Twitter directly.
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