New Delhi: Twitter has recently removed the legacy blue checkmarks from the accounts of prominent users. This move came after Elon Musk set a deadline of April 20 for the removal of the legacy checkmarks, and it seems that he has kept his promise this time. Several prominent celebrities and personalities in India and internationally have lost their blue tick on Twitter, including Rahul Gandhi, Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Alia Bhatt, Pope Francis, Beyonce, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Bill Gates.
Twitter introduced its Blue subscription service late last year, offering legacy blue checkmark holders 90 days to transfer to the new paid model. However, Musk extended this period significantly, and now the verified badge has been removed from accounts that don’t pay for the subscription. The subscription costs Rs 650 via the Twitter website or Rs 900 via Android and iOS.
Twitter Blue provides not only a verified badge but also several other features that are exclusive to subscribers. These features include the ability to edit tweets within a 30-minute window, a reduction in the number of ads seen in timelines, the option to compose longer tweets up to 10,000 characters, the ability to bold and italicize text in tweets, the ability to group and organize bookmarked tweets into folders for faster discovery later, and the ability to customize the Twitter app icon on your phone with several colorful options.
In addition to these features, Twitter Blue subscribers can also add NFTs as a way to customize their Twitter profile, and the NFT will be displayed in a special hexagon shape that identifies the owner of that NFT. They can choose from colorful options for their app theme and decide what appears in their navigation bar by selecting at least two and up to six items. They also get easier access to audio content within Spaces, a place to find podcasts, themed audio stations, recorded Spaces, and live Spaces.
Furthermore, Twitter Blue subscribers receive a small boost in the ranking of tweets that they interact with, and their replies receive a boost that ranks them closer to the top. They can also retract a tweet after sending it but before it’s visible to others on Twitter. Twitter Blue subscribers can upload videos up to 60 minutes long and up to 2GB file size. They also get two-factor authentication via SMS.
Elon Musk has made a few exceptions for users who are not willing to pay for Twitter Blue. He claimed he would pay for LeBron James, William Shatner, and Stephen King. The introduction of Twitter Blue has provided exclusive features for subscribers, but it has also created a divide between those who pay and those who do not. This move by Twitter has sparked a debate about the monetization of social media platforms and the value placed on verified accounts.
