Twitter launches $8 blue tick service

Twitter has launched a subscription service allowing users to buy blue-tick verification for a monthly fee of $7.99 (£7) in a significant change under its new owner Elon Musk.

The system was designed to help users identify authentic and influential users on the platform, including government figures, sports stars, entertainment figures, journalists, brands and organisations.

Available in the UK, as well as the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the update said the service will provide: "Power to the people: your account will get a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow."

Responding to a Twitter user asking about when the verification subscription will come to India, Musk said, "hopefully, less than a month". However, the India pricing to get the blue tick hasn't been revealed yet.

The subscription will offer host of new features besides the blue tick. It will offer half the ads and "much better ones".

"Since you're supporting Twitter in the battle against the bots, we're going to reward you with half the ads and make them twice as relevant," the update noted. In addition, blue users will be able to post longer videos on the platform.

The subscription will also bring priority ranking for quality content. "Your content will get priority raking in replies, mentions, and search. This helps the visibility of scams, spam and bots," the update stated.

The Twitter boss says that the company is working on host of new features to bring in future updates. He said that the "Twitter will soon add ability to attach long-form text to tweets, ending absurdity of notepad screenshots." He also said that "creator monetization for all forms of content" is also coming very soon and details will be revealed in two weeks.