The micro-blogging social media platform Twitter will soon roll out its Twitter Blue services in India, as the page related to the service is visible on the platform’s web view now. While no subscription prices or the exact date of its launch are known, the Twitter Blue web page reads that ‘Blue subscribers with verified phone numbers will get a blue check mark once approved’.
On December 13 last year, the social media company launched its third iteration of Twitter Blue and said that users now can buy Twitter’s blue tick for $8 (on a browser) or $11 (on an iOS device) per month. However, the service was limited only to a few countries like the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
Twitter owner Elon Musk said at the time that he would remove all legacy blue checks in a few months. According to him, how the blue ticks were given out earlier was corrupt and nonsensical. He also said that the company would expand its services to other countries shortly.
Twitter Blue is a premium subscription service that offers a blue tick to verified users along with an option to edit tweets, publish high-resolution 1080p videos, and more. At present, those user accounts in India who have managed to subscribe, may have used VPN services to show that their accounts are being operated from one of the countries with the subscription service available.
When a user would subscribe to Twitter Blue, they will have access to subscriber-only features such as the option of editing tweets, 1080p video uploads, reader mode, and a blue checkmark. This blue tick is provided after a verified phone number is added to the account, and once the account has been evaluated.
It also appears like Twitter is putting further restrictions on who may use the service. It says the account seeking the service must be at least 90 days old to have access to the premium service. It also demands the user be active in the past 30 days and that there should be no recent change in the profile photo, display name, or username (@handle).
Twitter Blue will not be ad-free, however, subscribers may see less advertising in the future. Meanwhile, Twitter Blue for Businesses is a new service that is being tested for corporate organizations on the platform. Subscribers to this service receive a gold checkmark that distinguishes the account as an official business on Twitter.