Twitter chose April Fool’s Day, also known as April 1, to start removing the platform’s legacy blue checkmarks.
Despite the importance of the day Twitter chose, the removal of legacy checkmarks has been anticipated for months. Musk tweeted in December that the company would withdraw those checks “in a few months” because “the way they delivered them was corrupt and meaningless.”
Since then, legacy blue checkmark holders have seen a pop-up when they click on their checkmark that says, “This is a legacy verified account. It may or may not be noticeable.”
Before Musk acquired the company, Twitter used checkmarks to verify that people and entities were active, authentic, and notable accounts of interest. The verified checkmarks were distributed free of charge.
Today, Twitter users can purchase a blue check through the Twitter Blue subscription model for $8 per month (iOS and Android signups will cost $11 per month, due to app store costs). There are also other checkmark colors and badges available to purchase to indicate whether an account is a business or government, for example.
Twitter says purchasing a checkmark gives users access to subscriber-only features like fewer ads on your timeline, priority sorting in conversations, bookmark folders, and the ability to create long tweets, edit tweets, and undo. tweets.
The news comes just hours after Twitter also announced the availability of the Blue Subscription Worldwide.
Twitter did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for more information on how many users have already signed up for Twitter Blue.
