Twitter to end legacy verified checkmarks once considered a badge of honor

Twitter users will still be able to keep their status after April 1 if they pay a fee.
Loukia Papadopoulos
Stock photo: Twitter blue check marks.
Stock photo: Twitter blue check marks.

aprott/iStock 

At the end of next month, previously verified Twitter accounts will lose their verified badges unless they start paying for them. 

Twitter announced in a tweet that it will "begin winding down [its] legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks" on April 1st.

It was common knowledge that the company planned to do so. After all, briefly after Twitter Blue first launched in November 2022, company chief Elon Musk said that "far too many corrupt legacy Blue 'verification' checkmarks exist" and that the company is removing them in the coming months. 

In November of 2022, Twitter gave a blue check verified mark to an account impersonating Jesus Christ. This came as a surprise to many as Twitter owner Elon Musk is known for his aversion to fake accounts.

The mark was a result of Twitter blue, which offers verified accounts (popularly called ‘blue ticks’) for $7.99 (dollars).

Losing the blue ticks

Now, legacy verified users will soon be losing their blue ticks, but it remains unclear if the website plans to yank their verified checkmarks all at once or in batches.

And since Musk announced that all press inquiries at the company will be answered with a poop emoji, we can’t reach out to find out exactly what will be happening.

Blue subscriptions are quickly becoming available worldwide. Previously only accessible within certain regions, this rollout brings the service within reach of most people. 

Paying subscribers will be getting a blue tick next to their usernames and will be able to make 4,000-character tweets, edit their posts and enjoy higher reply rankings.

The new features are part of Musk's goal of getting half its revenue from subscriptions. But will enough people around the world be willing to pay $8 per month or $11 for the iOS app) for the service?

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