Twitter Blue: Benefits, how to subscribe, and cost
What's the story
Twitter has started removing the legacy blue tick for all accounts. Several celebrities have lost their blue badge in recent days.
Now, the only way to get the verified checkmark is through Twitter Blue. It's a paid program that offers a host of perks along with the blue tick.
Here's more about the pricing and benefits of Twitter Blue.
Cost
How much does Twitter Blue subscription cost?
In India, Twitter Blue subscription costs Rs. 900 per month for iOS and Android. For web, the prices are much lesser at Rs. 650 per month.
The annual plan for the web version is Rs. 6,800 per year, which works out to Rs. 566.67 per month.
For Android and iOS, the annual subscription cost is Rs. 9,400 per year, approximately Rs. 783 per month.
Eligibility
What are the eligibility criteria for Twitter Blue?
Twitter assigns the verified blue tick on the basis of certain eligibility norms.
For instance, the account must have a display name and profile photo and must have been active in the past 30 days.
Importantly, the account must be older than 30 days at the time of subscribing to Twitter Blue and must have a confirmed contact number.
Information
The account must not show signs of being "misleading"
The account must not carry "recent changes" to the profile photo, display name, or username/handle. The account must not show signs of being "misleading or deceptive" or of "engaging in platform manipulation and spam."
Signing up
How to sign up for Twitter Blue?
To subscribe to Twitter Blue via web, head to the official website and click More >Twitter Blue >Subscribe. Now, pick a plan that suits you and make the payment.
When subscribing via the mobile app, head to the Profile tab >Twitter Blue >Subscribe. Follow the instructions to complete the subscription process.
You will have to verify your phone number, in case you haven't already.
Benefits
What are the benefits of a Twitter Blue subscription?
Twitter Blue is designed to offer a personalized experience, claims the company. Users will be able to get access to the latest features before they are available to everyone else.
Premium users will be able to edit published tweets, but changes will have to be made within 30 minutes. The edit option is only applicable to original tweets and quote tweets.
Perks
Twitter Blue will display 50% lesser ads
Twitter Blue users can also post longer tweets, the limit extends up to 10,000 characters, compared to 280 characters.
The premium plan will also display 50% lesser ads under the "For You" and "Following" timelines in the app.
Users can categorize important tweets under the bookmarks section and can also customize the app icon on their phone and pick between different themes.
Display
Users will also be able to post longer videos
Users will be able to set NFT profile pictures. Twitter Blue offers text formatting options, like the ability to italicize or make text bold.
People with the blue tick can also post longer videos, up to 60 minutes and approximately 2GB file size.
The in-app navigation bar can also be reset. Users can keep between two to six items or stick to the default.
Other features
Users will be able to "undo" tweets
Twitter Blue subscribers will see "Top Articles" which displays the most-shared articles from people you follow and a "Reader" feature that allows you to change the font size while reading long thread messages.
Users will also be able to "undo" their tweets, meaning you can preview and revise your tweet before it gets posted on Twitter.