Twitter has chosen April 1st, commonly known as April Fool’s Day, to commence the removal of legacy blue verification badges from accounts on its platform. This decision comes as no surprise, as Elon Musk announced in a tweet back in December that the removal would happen within a few months. He cited the previous process for allocating these badges as flawed and irrational.
Users with legacy blue verification badges have reported seeing a message when they click on their badge, which states, “This is a legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable.”
Before Musk’s acquisition of the company, Twitter utilized blue verification badges to authenticate and identify notable accounts of interest. These badges were awarded at no cost.
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 here: https://t.co/gzpCcwOpLp
Organizations can sign up for https://t.co/RlN5BbuGA3…
— Twitter Verified (@verified) March 23, 2023
Currently, users can buy a blue checkmark through Twitter Blue, a subscription service that costs $8 per month. Subscriptions via iOS and Android apps cost $11 per month, attributed to app store fees. There are also additional badge colors and symbols available for purchase, signifying distinctions such as businesses or government accounts.
Purchasing a checkmark grants users access to exclusive features, including a reduced number of advertisements, priority placement in conversations, bookmark folders, and the capability to create extended tweets, as well as edit and undo tweets.
This announcement follows the recent global expansion of Twitter Blue subscriptions. Twitter has not provided details on the number of users who have already subscribed to the service when approached by TechCrunch for information.
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