Twitter has announced its decision to start removing legacy blue ticks from the accounts of users on April, 1, 2023. The company is winding down its legacy verified program, in a bid to drive the expansion of its new subscription program, Twitter Blue.

The Twitter Blue subscription was relaunched in December 2022 and made available to users for USD 8 per month with a few additional features, including a verified blue checkmark. On February 18, Twitter also announced its plans to restrict 2FA SMS service to the subscribers of Twitter Blue.

The move was endorsed by Twitter owner Elon Musk, who has opined that the allocation process for blue ticks was corrupt and nonsensical.

Users who want to retain their blue tick logo on Twitter post 1^st April will have to mandatorily subscribe to Twitter Blue. Before this announcement, there were close to 42,000 verified accounts on Twitter.

Organizations will have to pay a higher price to avail of the verification, under the “Verified for Organizations” program, which is priced at USD 1000 per month. The business or non-profit accounts that subscribe to the program will receive a gold checkmark along with a square avatar.

If the organizations want to affiliate any individual or an entity, they will be required to pay an extra monthly charge of USD 50. Affiliated accounts will get a verification mark and an affiliate badge, which consists of a profile picture of their parent company. These efforts are being made amid Twitter’s efforts to monetize the platform and expand its revenue sources.

The slowdown in the online advertising market has severely impacted the revenue generation of many platforms. Some of them include Twitter, Snapchat, Alphabet, and Meta. The Elon Musk-owned company is aiming to reduce its dependency on advertising by focusing on revenue growth via the Twitter Blue subscription program.

Source credit: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/twitter-to-remove-legacy-blue-checkmarks-from-april-1-10302421.html