Twitter launches Twitter Blue subscription globally

Launched and then withdrawn, Twitter Blue subscription is finally available to all users of the platform. It’s 30% more expensive for iOS users.

Untimely withdrawn after Elon Musk “discovered” that Apple was charging 30% for payments brokered through the App Store, the Twitter Blue subscription is being relaunched with different rates after the Twitter chief failed in his attempts to renegotiate Apple’s fees. So if you select the subscription on an Android phone you’ll be charged $8/month. By contrast, if you subscribe from the iOS app you’ll be charged $11/month.

On the occasion of the global launch of the Twitter Blue subscription, the microblogging platform is also issuing an ultimatum to account holders who earned the blue “Twitter Verified” badge back when it was a distinction given free of charge to trusted users and not a privilege to be obtained for a fee. So those who want to keep their badge still have until April 1 to upgrade to the new subscription.

Twitter Blue is now available globally! Sign up today to get your blue checkmark, prioritized ranking in conversations, half ads, long Tweets, Bookmark Folders, custom navigation, Edit Tweet, Undo Tweet, and more. Sign up here: https://t.co/SBRLJccMxD

– Twitter Blue (@TwitterBlue) March 23, 2023

Unfortunately, the case for the blue badge is rather “flimsy”, as any account holder registered at least 30 days ago can claim this distinction, as long as they are willing to pay the Twitter Blue subscription fee and go through the verification process, using a valid email address and a piece of identification that matches the name listed when the account was registered. Taking the merchant aspect of the badge system a step further, Twitter now also offers a grey badge to be awarded to government officials and organisations.

According to information obtained from sources, Twitter had about 180,000 registered Twitter Blue subscribers in the United States as of mid-January, generating less than $1.5 million in monthly revenue. Despite the global expansion, it seems hard to believe that Twitter Blue subscriptions will bring in the level of funding the Twitter chief expected, especially given the negative publicity over the social media platform’s mismanagement and the exodus of advertising partners.