Ads on Twitter can be annoying, as you see them just about everywhere on the platform. Well, according to XDA Developers, Elon Musk promised to cut ads in half with Twitter Blue. Well, that day has come, but it’s not quite what we imagined.
One of users’ main gripes with Twitter Blue was the fact that you’re paying money every month, but you still have to see ads throughout the interface. You’d expect the money you’re paying each month to offset the loss in ad revenue. But that’s not the case.
Twitter Blue now has half ads… but not really
So, when Twitter says that you’d see half as many ads, you’d expect to see half as many ads. But looking at the company’s track record of staying out of hot water after Elon Musk took over, you shouldn’t be surprised that there’s some fine print to this.
So, when you read the list of perks for Twitter Blue, you’ll see that it only refers to two sections of the Twitter UI. These are the For You timeline and the Following timeline. That’s it. However, you’ll still see the full number of ads throughout the rest of the UI. This includes, but isn’t limited to “ads on profiles, ads in Tweet replies, promoted events in Explore, promoted trends, and promoted accounts to follow.”
So, you’ll see 50% fewer ads on about 20% of the UI. That’s a big smack to the face, as people who venture outside of the two timelines won’t see any tangible reduction in ads. We understand that Elon is trying to make Twitter more profitable, but this still feels like a shady move.
If you’re still interested in getting Twitter Blue, you can sign up for it. It costs $8/month, but that only applies if you sign up through the web. If you sign up using the Google Play Store or the iOS App Store, it will cost you $11/month.