Twitter Blue is back, but you need a verified phone number

Elon Musk's $8 per month Twitter Blue subscription with verification is now official, and you'll need a verified phone number to sign up for this.

In a thread on Twitter, the social platform notes that Twitter Blue will cost $11 monthly if you sign up for iOS and will grant you access to edit tweets, upload 1080p videos, reader mode, and the coveted blue checkmark. But, of course, if you paid $4.99/$2.99 for the old blue subscription, you'd need to sign up again to keep your benefits, while anyone who signed up with Apple at the old price of $7.99 per month will automatically renew at $11 per month unless you cancel.

The revamped Blue initially launched on November 9 but was discontinued a day later after most of the people used it to convincingly impersonate high-profile brands and accounts, despite the rules of the platform that prohibits doing so.

This time, Twitter is relying on a slightly outlined review process and the phone number verification requirement to limit any "verified" hoaxes:

We are committed to upholding the integrity of accounts on Twitter and making the platform a place where people can safely join and engage. Only Twitter accounts created more than three months or 90 days ago can sign up for Twitter Blue. All Twitter Blue subscribers must confirm their phone numbers as part of registration.

Once subscribed to Twitter Blue, changes to your profile picture, display name, or username (@handle) will result in losing the blue checkmark until the account is validated as continuing to match our requirements, and no changes will be allowed during this review period.

Twitter says the current price is a "limited-time offer" on the signup page and lists several upcoming features. These include the ability to "climb to the top of replies", post "longer videos", and see half the number of ads.

Twitter says anyone with an existing blue checkmark won't lose it "at this time," though this is what Musk says will happen in "a few months." However, it does note that users who change their display name or profile photo will lose their checkmark until their account is validated.