Twitter Blue with verification arrives on Dec 12; USD 8 for Android, USD 11 for iPhones

IANS

New Delhi, December 11

Twitter on Sunday announced to relaunch its Blue subscription service with verification on December 12, that will cost $8 for Android users and $11 for iPhone owners per month.

Musk has raised the price of Twitter Blue subscription service from $8 to $11 for iPhone users, keeping the 30 per cent cut that Apple takes on revenues from iOS apps on its App Store.

“We’re relaunching @TwitterBlue on Monday – subscribe on web for $8/month or on iOS for $11/month to get access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark,” the company said.

Those who subscribe will get Edit Tweet, 1080p video uploads, reader mode, and a blue checkmark (after their account has been reviewed).

“We’ll begin replacing that “official” label with a gold checkmark for businesses, and later in the week a grey checkmark for government and multilateral accounts,” said the company.

Subscribers will be able to change their handle, display name or profile photo, “but if they do, they’ll temporarily lose the blue checkmark until their account is reviewed again,” said Twitter.

Musk last month launched Blue subscription plan with verification but later postponed it after it met with huge controversy as several fake accounts came up on the platform, impersonating brands and celebrities.

He said that the micro-blogging platform will relaunch its $8 Blue subscription service with verification from November 29, this time more “rock solid,” but deferred that too to avoid Apple’s 30 per cent cut of App Store purchases.

Musk criticised the App Store cut, calling it a “hidden 30 per cent tax on the Internet”.

Later, after his meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Musk said that they had “resolved” misunderstandings over the micro-blogging platform possibly being removed from the App Store.