Shillong, March 24: All the verified legacy accounts on Twitter that have not subscribed to Twitter Blue will lose their blue tick from April 1.
This implies that those journalists, actors, and politicians who did not pay for the blue tick will soon lose it. Many users in past had tried hard to become verified on Twitter.
However after since Elon Musk took over the reins of the social media giant, the blue tick has become more about profit than reputation. Earlier, only those with some popularity could receive the blue tick, but today anyone who pays money can get a blue checkmark on Twitter.
Twitter announced “On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue”. Elon Musk had said last year that the way in “which blue checkmarks were given out was corrupt and nonsensical”.
Since then, when users tap on their checkmark, some of them who already had verified accounts before Elon Musk took control have noticed a pop-up. “This is a legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable”, the pop up read.
Blue tick were used by Twitter before Musk took control to confirm the existence of prominent, active, and authentic accounts of interest for people and organisations. These free checkmarks were used to show that an account was legitimate and wasn’t a spam or fraudulent account.
The blue tick was awarded following extensive verification. This made it easier for users to find and follow reliable accounts of famous people, companies, and public figures.
Now users can purchase a blue checkmark badge through the Twitter Blue subscription model, and verification no longer has the same meaning. For web users, this subscription service costs $8 per month; however, due to app store fees, iOS and Android signups will cost $11 per month.