Elon Musk has announced that Twitter accounts will have to be subscribed to Twitter Blue to have their tweets appear in the For You recommendations feed, effective from April 15th. This announcement comes after Twitter indicated it will begin removing “legacy” blue badges from accounts yet to sign up to Twitter Blue. Before Musk’s takeover in October 2022, blue badges were given to notable figures for free, but now they are available to accounts subscribed to Twitter Blue. Voting in Twitter polls will also require verification to address the issue of advanced AI bot swarms taking over the For You feed.
Twitter’s premium tier is available for purchase via the web for $8 per month or $84 per year, or in-app via iOS and Android for $11 per month or $115 per year. Musk also suggested that an increase in sign-ups to Blue would help boost Twitter’s bottom line, one of his stated goals for the platform.
Many of Twitter’s community of over 230 million daily active users were quick to respond to Musk’s tweet, with most expressing discontent at the decision. Some were concerned that non-subscribers would not be able to amplify their voice, while others questioned how this would prevent verified accounts that are impersonating non-verified accounts from gaining even more visibility. It’s possible that Musk’s announcement was also prompted by concerns that some of those with legacy checkmarks, almost all of which belong to notable figures with large followings, might refuse to join Twitter Blue and lose their blue badge on April 1.
Elon Musk predicts that tweets from non-Blue accounts will be limited in the near future.
