Key highlights
- Twitter is winding down the free blue check in a development that will compel many users to subscribe for the paid verification at $11 per month.
- With a new date of April 20 now fixed as ‘final’, Elon Musk seems very determined to execute the plan he first announced in December last year.
- Note that individual Twitter Blue subscribers in Nigeria will pay N3,560 per month, while Nigerian businesses will pay N460,500 per month for the golden verified badge.
Twitter Chief Executive, Elon Musk, has said all Twitter accounts verified for free before he took over the company would have their verification badge removed by April 20, 2023.
With the date now fixed, Musk is set to make good on his promise of removing the legacy checks, which he first announced in December last year.
Announcing the date via a terse tweet, Musk said: “Final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20.”
Note that this means that all verified accounts before Elon Musk took over the company will lose their verification badge and will be required to pay for Twitter Blue before they can get verified again. The $11-a-month subscription (for Android and iPhone users) gives the subscribers the advantage of seeing fewer ads, aside from getting the blue check.
Corrupt verification
While analysts believe Musk is pushing the paid subscription to recoup the $44 billion he spent on acquiring Twitter, the billionaire said he was sanitizing the platform through the subscription package. According to him, past account verifications on the platform were corrupt.
Meanwhile, Twitter had earlier announced April 1, 2023, as the day it would start removing the legacy blue checks.
- “On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue,” the company stated in March via a tweet that was accompanied by links to subscribe to the premium program.
What Nigerians will pay
Aside from the global price of $11 a month, Twitter recently announced prices specific to countries, and according to the company, Nigerians that want to subscribe to Twitter Blue will be paying N3,560 per month. However, the company is offering a discount to subscribers that pay for one year of N38,500, which amounts to N3,208 per month.
For Nigerian businesses that want to get the golden verified badge, Twitter said they will have to pay the sum of N460,500 every month. In addition, the organizations will also pay an extra N23,030 monthly for each business or individual affiliated with them to get verified.
While the company had initially rolled out Twitter Blue for individuals, it said the verification for businesses which gives a gold badge becomes available globally Friday, March 31, 2023.