Twitter Blue to relaunch with true verification, but Apple users now pay more

The director of product management at Twitter, Esther Crawford, wrote on Twitter that the company will be relaunching its Twitter Blue subscription service on Monday, December 12.

Twitter is planning to relaunch its premium subscription service, known as Twitter Blue, with revised payment options. The service, which was first introduced in May 2021, will now cost $8 per month for those that sign up on the web and $11 per month for users that subscribe through the App Store on iOS. Twitter Blue offers a range of additional features and benefits to subscribers, such as the ability to undo tweets, customize the app's appearance, access exclusive content, and the iconic blue checkmark.

The revised payment options for Twitter Blue come as the company looks to expand its revenue streams and diversify its business, with Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk previously stating the company needs to take its reliance off advertiser revenue. Twitter has been facing increased competition from other social media platforms, and the launch of Twitter Blue is seen as an effort to differentiate the service and attract more users to the platform via its exclusive features.

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In addition to the revised payment options, Twitter Blue will also feature a new verification step, where the company will review an account before applying the blue checkmark, which is used to indicate that an account is authentic and verified.

This move is intended to combat impersonation and improve the quality of information on the platform, two aspects of the service that failed upon the first launch of Twitter Blue, which led to the company temporarily making Blue unavailable. It remains to be seen how the market will respond to the changes, and whether Twitter Blue will be able to compete with other premium subscription services in the social media space.

Notably, Twitter will be adding new colors for the iconic Blue checkmark, with the social media company announcing the addition of gold checkmarks for verified businesses and gray checkmarks for government and "multilateral accounts".

Furthermore, Elon Musk recently announced that Twitter developers are working on tools that will allow users to see if their accounts have been shadowbanned. If you are interested in learning more about that story, and more on Twitter, check out the below link.

• Read more: Elon Musk says Twitter will soon be able to show you if you're shadowbanned