Twitter Blue Subscription Will Require Mobile Number Verification

Twitter is rolling out its subscription service called Twitter Blue once again after Elon Musk acquired the platform. Previously, the Twitter Blue subscription was scrapped after verified accounts started impersonating other notable figures causing chaos in the platform. Now, in a bid to prevent such impersonation, the social media platform will require users to do a mobile number verification when receiving the Blue Check verification mark.

Twitter posted on Sunday that "Blue subscribers with a verified phone number will get a Blue checkmark once approved," indicating that the service will now be tied to your mobile number, raising questions on anonymity on the platform.

No ID Verification, Option to Stay on iOS or Switch to Web

Later, Twitter's Product Manager, Esther Crawford said the social media platform has also added a review step before users are granted the blue checkmark.

"We've added a review step before applying a blue checkmark to an account as one of our new steps to combat impersonation (which is against the Twitter rules)," he wrote.

Replying to the same tweet, users voiced their doubts about the subscription service. Users asked if there will be ID verification, to which Crawford replied there will not be one in this update. Another asked if one has already paid the previous $8 fee on iOS, will the subscription still hold after the price for iOS was increased? Crawford said users will get a price increase notification, and then can choose to remain a subscriber on iOS or move to the web.

Twitter Blue Relaunched

Twitter is relaunching the Blue subscription service that includes the blue check verification for individual accounts, and color-coded checkmarks for organizations and governments. The Twitter Blue subscription now costs $8 for the web and $11 for iOS users taking into account the 30 percent commission Apple charges for in-app purchases from the App Store.

Musk has also confirmed Twitter's character limit will be relaxed from 280 to 4000. The platform originally had a limit of 140 characters which was increased to 280 in 2017. Musk also informed users that the names of 1.5 billion inactive accounts will be freed up for others to use.