Twitter Blue With Verification For $7.99 Monthly Fee Rolls Out In App Update

Elon Musk's Twitter Blue plans just took a major step forward. The Twitter App's description in the Apple App Store has just been updated to list the new price and upcoming features. The world's richest man has long talked about making major changes to the social network, and those changes are falling into place rapidly following his late-October acquisition of the company. The most high-profile change to the way the site works revolves around its iconic "blue checkmark." While the checkmark was traditionally free and used to verify an account of public interest was genuine, it will soon be available to all "Blue" users.

While initial rumors put the price as high as $20 a month, the company will soon be offering a "checkmark," along with a few other features, for $8 a month in countries like the United States, and a lower figure based on regional economies in other countries. As the title may suggest, verification currently involves proving your identity in some way. This process could also become simpler under Musk's new plans.

One of Blue's current standout features could soon be rolling out to all users. The recently added "Edit Button" is only available to people who have signed up for the premium service, but there has been a suggestion that Musk may make the long-anticipated feature standard on the platform. Musk may also be planning to monetize other areas of Twitter, including giving users the option to send direct messages to celebrities and other "VIP" accounts for a fee.

Earlier today text was added to the "what's new" section of Twitter's page on the Apple App Store. It seemed to confirm several pieces of recent speculation, including the service's price and some of its features. The text reads: "Starting today, we're adding great new features to Twitter Blue, and have more on the way soon. Get Twitter Blue for $7.99/month if you sign up now Blue checkmark: Power to the people: Your account will get a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow." The post also lists other features. It says that Blue users will receive "half" of the ads regular users receive, and that their ads will be "twice as relevant" which suggests they will be targeted more specifically. Users will also be able to post "longer videos" and receive "priority ranking" for their tweets which Twitter claims will "helps lower the visibility of scams, spam, and bots." The post also confirms the service has geographical limitations, stating that it is only available in the "United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom."

The new Blue isn’t live yet â€" the sprint to our launch continues but some folks may see us making updates because we are testing and pushing changes in real-time. The Twitter team is legendary. 🫡 New Blue… coming soon! https://t.co/ewTSTjx3t7

— Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) November 5, 2022

The post doesn't appear on Google's Play Store, and Esther Crawford, a person involved with "early stage products" at Twitter has confirmed it is yet to launch. In response to a tweet suggesting the new service was live, Crawford tweeted: "The new Blue isn't live yet — the sprint to our launch continues but some folks may see us making updates because we are testing and pushing changes in real-time. The Twitter team is legendary. 🫡 New Blue... coming soon!" So the App Store posting may be a bit premature, and users will have to wait a little longer before they can buy a checkmark.