Twitter blue is back, but with a twist for IOS users

After a month-long suspension, Twitter is finally relaunching its blue tick verification service but this time with a little twist. IOS users will now pay 30% more i.e. $11 per month subscription fee.

The idea of a subscription fee for a verified status was initially $8 per month but following this new announcement, the $8 fee will be for web and android users only as IOS users will have to pay $11.

According to a tweet by Twitter, it said,

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 reasoning behind this decision is unclear for now and Twitter has not come out to give any explanation, but according to many analysts, the reason could be in response to the infamous Apple App Store tax.

Elon Musk has strongly opposed the Apple App Store tax which sees that developers are charged 30% of any revenue earned through an IOS app. When Twitter Blue started initially, it was only available through Apple’s App Store.

Although for Android users, the subscription fee remains $8 per month.

As per their official website, Twitter’s blue tick and verification service are “currently available on iOS only in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, with plans to expand”.

Read Also: Twitter Blue suspended amid controversies

How it started

Many users thought the payment for verification was a joke after Elon Musk took control of the social app and made a tweet about it. According to Twitter’s new boss, the paid subscription service is one of the many strategies up his sleeves to enhance the company’s finances.

However, after the launch last month, millions of people jumped at the opportunity to get a verification status. Some users, unfortunately, took this advantage to create fake accounts of public figures and top companies with their newly verified accounts.

This led to many impersonations and confusion on who is real and fake on the app, and on November 22nd, Elon Musk decided to suspend the verification service to provide the team enough time to restructure the service and figure out ways to curb impersonations.

He also announced that one of the strategies the company is looking to curb this impersonation issue is to provide verification colour schemes for organisations and high-profiled individuals to differentiate them from parody and impersonating accounts.

Read Also: Elon Musk’s style has made Twitter more dangerous, former top official explains

How it is going now

While the new fee for the blue tick mark is now $11 per month for IOS users, Twitter has promised more benefits that come with the subscription. Verified users can now get their content at the top of replies, mentions and searches which will make it more prominent over non-paying users.

Some other new benefits of a blue checkmark are:

• Users can edit Twitter content.
• Verified users can now upload 1080p video-quality content.
• Verified users have access to reader mode.
• Users have the opportunity to see half the ad content.
• Ability to post longer tweets.

But that is not all, Twitter has also brought out new rules surrounding this relaunching of the blue tick checkmark.

Some of the new rules are:

• Blue checkmarks can only be given to an individual after the account has been reviewed.
• The official label mark is to be replaced with a new colour-coded verification scheme; a gold checkmark for businesses, a grey checkmark for government and multilateral accounts, and a blue checkmark for individuals.
• New verified subscribers can make changes to their profile, but this will lead to temporarily losing the blue checkmark until their account is reviewed again.
• The account must have a verified phone number.

Elon Musk believes that this will help combat scams and spam, which has been one of the biggest concerns for Twitter over the past few years. As the billionaire is working hard to tackle impersonators on the site, he is also working hard to make the platform bot free.