Twitter To Start Charging $20 Per Month For Blue Verification Badge: Report

The latest directive aims to change Twitter Blue, the company’s optional, $4.99 a month subscription that offers additional features into a more expensive subscription that verifies users.

Twitter is reportedly planning to charge for the coveted blue check mark that verifies the identity of its account holder

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New Delhi: After acquiring social media platform Twitter last week, Tesla chief Elon Musk has now warned employees about meeting the deadline to introduce paid verification on it or quit.

In a tweet on Sunday, Musk said the company would revise its user verification process. "Whole verification process is being revamped right now", Musk said without sharing further details on what may change.

The whole verification process is being revamped right now

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 30, 2022

The social media platform is planning to charge for the coveted blue check mark that verifies the identity of its account holder, reported Reuters citing technology newsletter Platformer. This means going ahead users would have to subscribe to Twitter Blue at $4.99 a month or lose their "verified" badges, according to the Platformer report. 

What Does It Mean For Users?

The latest directive aims to change Twitter Blue, the company’s optional, $ 4.99-a-month subscription that offers additional features into a more expensive subscription that verifies users, reported technology publication The Verge.

The company is looking to charge $19.99 for the new Twitter Blue subscription. Under the current plan, verified users would have 90 days to subscribe or lose their blue checkmark, the report added. Those who are engaged in this project have been asked to meet a deadline of November 7 to launch the feature or they will be fired, as per the report.

Musk has not made a final decision and the project could still be scrapped, but chances are higher that verification will become a part of Twitter Blue, the report stated.

Launched in June 2021, Twitter Blue was the first subscription service offering "exclusive access to premium features" on a monthly subscription basis including a feature to edit tweets.

The feature to edit tweets was also made available earlier in October after Musk's insistence on using a Twitter poll in April asking his millions of followers whether they wanted an edit button. Over 70 per cent had said yes.

Musk has also asked that logged-out users visiting Twitter's site be redirected to Explore page which shows trending tweets, The Verge reported.