What Is Twitter Blue, Exactly?

Twitter is ready for you to hand over some cash, whether it’s subscribing to the relaunched Twitter Blue service or buying one of the blue bird statues from its San Francisco office. Twitter Blue is one of Elon Musk’s strategies to monetize the social media company and shake up platform dynamics since his April acquisition. 

Not sure what exactly you receive for that monthly subscription? Are your eyes glazing over trying to figure out what all these different colored check marks mean? Here’s everything you need to know.

What Do I Get With My Subscription?

Before you sign up for Twitter Blue, you need to verify the phone number connected to your account and check to see if your account is eligible. Twitter Blue costs $11 per month if you sign up through the iOS store on your iPhone (you can’t subscribe through Google Play on Android yet) or $8 per month if you subscribe through a web browser. This price difference is not unheard of for Apple’s App Store; YouTube Music does a similar price hike for iOS originated subscriptions.

The number one thing you’re paying for with Twitter Blue is attention. After your account is reviewed, a blue check mark will be stamped onto your profile. “Rocket to the top of replies, mentions, and search,” reads one signup page describing the service’s future benefits. “Tweets from verified users will be prioritized—helping to fight scams and spam.” Two other features the company claims are arriving soon for Twitter Blue subscribers include a reduction of in-app ads and the ability to share extended video content.

OK, but what do you get right now? You instantly get the ability to edit your Tweets multiple times within the first half-hour of posting, a long-requested feature. While you will need to wait for longer videos, Twitter Blue subscribers can upload video files at 1080p quality. Are you still holding on to that bored ape, crazy kitty, loudmouth larva, or whatever the latest NFT collection is? Show it off as your profile picture with Twitter Blue.

The upgraded service allows you to make aesthetic adjustments to your experience. Change the appearance of the icon on your smartphone or tweak the in-app colors. For anyone who bookmarks an overwhelming assortment of Tweets, you can now sort through those bookmarked posts and organize them into private folders.

One warning: If you decide to sign up for Twitter Blue and care to retain your check mark, lock in your Twitter handle, display name, and photo prior to signing up. According to the site’s FAQ page, the site may remove your check mark for a brief period of time if any of this information on your profile is changed. This may be due to Musk’s distaste for accounts impersonating him on the platform he now owns.

What Do All These Different Check Marks Mean?

In the words of Twitter user @Horse_ebooks, “Everything happens so much.” On December 10, Twitter announced further plans to change how check marks work on the platform. Accounts that were previously verified with a blue check mark might retain it without a Twitter Blue subscription, but the account is labeled as a “legacy verification.”

Users may begin to see certain accounts with check marks that are gold or gray. According to Twitter, gold is meant to signal an official account from a business and gray is mainly for government accounts.

After everything, are you ever still sure you want to be on Twitter? Anyone wanting something new can mull over the multiple alternative options with WIRED articles that help you get started on Mastodon, discover new servers on Discord, or consider giving LinkedIn a second chance.