Microblogging platform Twitter will remove the legacy blue tick from verified accounts from today (April 20). This comes weeks after company's CEO Elon Musk announced the date to press users to sign up for Twitter Blue, its paid for subscription service. Once this happens, Twitter will have verification marks only for paid users and businesses, and government entities and officials. The legacy 'blue ticks' were considered coveted as they were only given to notable social media users like celebrities, politicians and journalists who had passed strict verification processes online. The process allowed Twitter's team to verify a user's identity and prevent impersonators - something that many people have claimed will be diluted under the new service.
In his April 12 tweet, Mr Musk had said, "Final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20."
"To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue," the microblogging platform added.
Twitter Blue is a premium subscription service for users that adds a blue checkmark next to users' profile name and also gives them early access to new features introduced by the microblogging platform. These include edit tweet, which allows users to edit their Twitter posts within 30 minutes, custom app icons, NFT profile pictures, and bookmark folders.
The service is available for web, iOS and Android devices. As per the microblogging website, the monthly subscription fee for iOS and Android users in India is Rs 900 while the fee has been kept lower at Rs 650 per month for the web. Twitter Blue users will also be able to send longer tweets - up to 4,000 characters and upload files with a file size up to 2 GB and a maximum duration of 60 minutes by paying the subscription fees.
Elon Musk-owned social media platform had previously stated that it would start removing the blue checkmark badges from legacy verified accounts on April 1. On April 2, Twitter changed the language in the description of verified users to read, "This account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account." This meant users will not be able to tell who is paying for a blue checkmark and who isn't.
