❘ Published: 2022-11-05T20:48:04
❘ Updated: 2022-11-05T20:48:13
Twitter’s iOS app has been updated to include the new $7.99 Twitter Blue subscription, which will give a verification badge to subscribers.
Twitter has been in a whirlwind of news since Elon Musk sought to purchase the company for $44 billion back in April 2022.
Now that Musk’s deal has officially gone through, it seems the business magnate is keen to implement his previously proposed ideas now that he’s in charge.
The first of those new ideas has been implemented, with Twitter updating its iOS app to add new features to the Twitter Blue subscription. Notably, subscribers will now receive a blue Verification Badge by paying $7.99.
Twitter Blue subscribers will receive Verification Badges
On November 5, 2022, Twitter updated its iOS app with some “great new features to Twitter Blue” and teased there was “more on the way soon.”
The update increased Twitter Blue’s subscription price from $4.99 to $7.99. Additionally, anyone who subscribes to Twitter Blue will receive a Verification Badge “just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow.”
Musk has claimed he would change the verification process for some time now, with previous rumors suggesting that he would charge verified accounts $19.99 to keep their badge.
However, while the iOS update has gone live for iPhone users, the new Twitter Blue subscription service isn’t live just yet, according to Twitter’s product manager, Esther Crawford.
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! https://t.co/ewTSTjx3t7
— Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) November 5, 2022
Crawford did note that “some folks may see us making updates because we are testing and pushing changes in real-time” and confirmed the new service would be “coming soon.”
Before this new service was officially confirmed by Twitter itself, users across the platform voiced their concern about the decision to allow anyone a Verification Badge.
The hashtag RatVerified trended on Twitter on November 3, 2022, where users protested the change by adding the rat emoji next to their names instead of a Verification Badge.
Now that the change has officially gone through and Twitter Blue will allow anyone to display a Verification Badge, only time will tell how this new service will change the future of the platform.