Twitter Rolls Out $7.99 Blue Check Monthly Fee, Promises ‘Half the Ads’

New Twitter owner Elon Musk has made good on his promise to start charging users $8 for formerly free verified status, and also touted “half the ads,” as a bonus for Twitter Blue subscribers.

On Saturday, Twitter added the new, heavily criticized $8 monthly plan to iOS Apple’s App Store.

“Starting today, we’re adding great new features to Twitter Blue, and have more on the way soon.
Get Twitter Blue for $7.99/month if you sign up now. Blue checkmark: Power to the people: Your account will get a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow,” the description on Apple’s App Store reads.

However, Twitter staffer Esther Crawford tweeted, “The new Blue isn’t live yet — the sprint to our launch continues but some folks may see us making updates because we are testing and pushing changes in real-time.”

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The app store also lists features yet to come, including “half the ads & much better ones,” which puts a positive spin on the exodus of advertisers from Twitter, who don’t want to see their content next to the proliferation of unmoderated hate speech. Companies including General Motors, Audi and Pfizer have paused their advertising on the platform.

Also coming soon for Twitter Blue, the ability to post longer videos and “priority ranking for quality content: Your content will get priority ranking in replies, mentions and search. This helps lower the visibility of scams, spam, and bots.”

Twitter Blue with verification is available on iOS in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

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