Image: © Andreas Prott/Stock.adobe.com
The subscription option will let users edit tweets after they’ve been published, upload higher quality videos and get a blue ‘verified’ check mark.
Twitter is planning to launch a revamped version of its subscription service with new measures to try prevent misuse.
The roll-out of new Twitter Blue subscriptions, which allowed users to pay to receive a ‘verified’ blue tick, was paused last month after a wave of impersonation accounts flooded the platform.
The company said it plans to relaunch Twitter Blue today (12 December) at $8 a month. However, the subscription cost has been raised to $11 a month for iOS users.
Twitter did not say why it is charging iOS users extra for the subscription service, but The Information reports it could be a response to the 30pc revenue cut that Apple takes from iOS apps.
The new features available for subscribers include the ability to edit tweets after they’ve been published, upload videos in 1080p quality and get a blue check mark.
A blue tick next to a Twitter username was previously free, but typically reserved for high-profile figures, companies and users who had been verified as trustworthy sources.
Soon after he took over the platform, Musk revealed plans to introduce a way for users to pay to get verified in order to “give power to the people”.
This caused a chaotic period on the platform, as some users paid to get a blue tick and then changed their account names to impersonate notable figures or companies.
One user impersonated pharma giant Eli Lilly and tweeted that insulin was “now free”. The real Eli Lilly account responded on Twitter, apologising for the misleading message and linking to its actual account.
To prevent this issue, Twitter said subscribers will now temporarily lose their blue check mark if they change their handle, display name or profile photo. The users will get the blue tick back following an account review.
During the initial revamp of Twitter Blue, an ‘Official’ label started rolling out on some legacy verified accounts, to distinguish them from the wave of new blue ticks on accounts that had not been verified. This label was rolled back soon after and then rolled out again, causing additional confusion.
Twitter said it plans to replace the Official label with a gold check mark for businesses and a grey tick for government and “multilateral accounts”.
Meanwhile, singer Elton John has announced he is leaving Twitter due to concerns over misinformation.
The singer tweeted that he is saddened to see how “misinformation is now being used to divide our world”.
All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world.
I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.— Elton John (@eltonofficial) December 9, 2022
He said his departure is in response to a “recent change in policy” at Twitter that will “allow misinformation to flourish”.
The platform recently stopped taking action against tweets breaching its Covid-19 misinformation policy.
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of essential sci-tech news.
