As Musk ‘revamps’ Twitter, you may have to pay Rs 1650 per month for the blue tick

You may soon have to pay about Rs 1,650 per month for that coveted blue tick that authenticates your identity on Twitter.

Days after taking over the company, billionaire Elon Musk, replying to a tweet on Sunday, said the influential social media platform’s verification process was “being revamped.” Though he did not reveal any details, technology newsletter Platformer reported on the same day that the blue tick would come at a price. The report cited two persons familiar with the development.

According to the report, if the proposal is approved, users must subscribe to Twitter Blue at $4.99 a month to continue with their “verified” badges.

Also read: As Musk takes over Twitter, Dorsey testing new social media app

However, The Verge reported that Twitter was planning to hike the Twitter Blue subscription charge to $19.99 (Rs 1648) per month. Verified users would get 90 days to subscribe or lose their blue tick. Employees working on the project were reportedly told on Sunday that they must launch the feature within November 7 or get fired.

More changes in the offing

Twitter Blue was launched in June 2021 as the platform’s first subscription service. It offers “exclusive access to premium features” based on a monthly subscription. It also has a feature that allows you to edit tweets.

This edit feature was activated only earlier in October, upon Musk’s insistence. Using a Twitter poll, he had asked his millions of followers in April whether they wanted such a feature. Over 70 per cent of those who took part in the poll said “yes.”

Also read: Elon Musk gets a dose of Twitter ‘mayhem’ soon after he takes over

However, the Tesla CEO has reportedly not made a final decision yet on the blue tick. But according to Platformer, it is likely that verification will become a part of Twitter Blue.

According to The Verge, Musk has also requested that logged out users visiting the site be redirected to its Explore page, which shows trending tweets. The report cited employees familiar with the matter.

(With agency inputs)