Following Elon Musk’s $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, several media outlets reported that he may soon launch a new method of generating revenue on the social platform by forcing users to pay for their “verification badges”.
Sources familiar with the matter told that Twitter executives spent the weekend discussing a possible change to the social platform where users would have to pay to subscribed to Twitter Blue or they will lose their “badges”.
Twitter Blue, a $4.99 monthly subscription, launched last year as the platform’s premium offering, giving users access to new features.
Thus, a verification level subscription can cost up to $19.99 per month.
Currently only available in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Twitter Blue’s launch has struggled with mainstream appeal and limited features — but linking verification to a subscription fee could boost its popularity.
If Twitter charges for “verified status,” it would be the first major US social media app to do so, as most platforms offer the feature for free.