Twitter relaunches blue tick service at a higher price for iPhone users | Twitter

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Twitter relaunched its subscription service on Monday, offering users verified status for $8 (£6.50) a month or $11 a month on their iPhone.

The move comes on the heels of a failed renewal of the service last month that resulted in a batch of impersonators appearing on the platform as some users took the opportunity to launch fake “verified” accounts of major companies and public figures.

Twitter said: “We’re relaunching @TwitterBlue on Monday — subscribe on the web for $8 per month or on iOS for $11 per month to access subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark.”

It added that users willing to pay $8 on the web or $11 per month via the Apple App Store would get a more prominent position on the platform than non-payers, promising that subscribers would “climb to the top of replies, mentions, and search.” Twitter said this feature will be coming soon.

According to Twitter’s website, the blue tick service is “currently only available on iOS in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, with plans to expand.”

Twitter said prioritizing subscribers would help combat “scams and spam,” referring to one troubling slog for platform owner Elon Musk, who tried to walk away from a deal to buy the company over concerns about pesky bots.

Twitter said subscribers who attempt to change their name, display name or photo will temporarily lose their tags until the account is reviewed again.

Other features offered to subscribers include the ability to edit tweets. According to a trial the company launched in September, shortly before Musk bought Twitter, users would be able to edit a tweet for up to 30 minutes after it was posted — with an icon showing it had been modified. Planned new features include offering half as many ads and the ability to post longer tweets.

The company also confirmed that it will introduce a color-coded verification system, with businesses receiving a gold check mark or mark and government accounts receiving a gray token.

Twitter hasn’t explained why it charges Apple users more than others on the web, but Musk has publicly criticized the fees charged in its App Store, which takes up to a 30% cut of sales. In a series of tweets last month, he accused Apple of threatening to block Twitter from its App Store for unspecified reasons, and also said that the iPhone maker had stopped advertising on the social media platform.

However, after a subsequent meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, he tweeted that the misunderstanding over Twitter’s removal from the Apple App Store had been resolved.

Musk has made it clear he wants Twitter to be less reliant on ads, which made up 90% of its $5.1 billion in revenue last year. This need became even more pressing after the Tesla CEO reported a “massive drop in revenue” when advertisers pulled from the platform amid concerns about moderation in content, with an outbreak of fraudulent “verified” accounts exacerbating those concerns.

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