Twitter has announced that it will begin removing legacy blue checkmarks from the platform starting April Fool’s Day. This move has been expected for months, with Twitter CEO, Elon Musk, tweeting in December that the way in which the checks were given out was corrupt and nonsensical. In the past, Twitter used checkmarks to verify individuals and entities as active, authentic and notable accounts of interest and verified checkmarks were doled out for free. However, the platform now offers users the ability to purchase a blue check through the Twitter Blue subscription model for $8 per month. There are also other checkmark colors and badges available for purchase to denote whether an account is a business or a government, for example, and subscribers are given access to subscriber-only features like fewer ads, prioritized ranking in conversations, and bookmark folders. Twitter did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for more information about how many users have already signed up for Twitter Blue.
‘Legacy’ blue checks on Twitter will be eliminated on April 1st.
