Twitter’s “blue tick” saga has a new twist. Instead of removing the legacy verified checkmarks as originally planned, the company has updated the description for those coveted blue ticks. It’s now difficult to tell legacy verified users apart from Twitter Blue subscribers.
Twitter announced last month that it will start removing the checkmarks from the legacy verified accounts at the beginning of April. It planned to offer the coveted blue ticks to only those who subscribe to Twitter Blue. However, this didn’t happen. Instead, the company started showing the same description for both legacy verified and Blue subscribers. “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account,” the updated description reads.
Earlier, Twitter distinguished paid and legacy verified checkmarks with different descriptions. “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue,” it explicitly said if an account got the blue tick as part of a Blue subscription. Meanwhile, the description for legacy verified accounts previously read, “This is a legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable”. The company has now merged the two types of blue ticks and you can’t tell them apart.
This may be a stop-gap solution before Twitter removes legacy verified checkmarks
It’s unclear if Twitter changed its mind and no longer plans to scrap the old account verification or if the latest twist is a stop-gap as it prepares to remove the legacy verified checkmarks.
According to a recent report from The Washinton Post, the latter may be the case. Removing the checkmarks is reportedly a manual process, which could be pretty painstaking. Moreover, doing so on a wide scale could have grave repercussions too. It has “the potential to disrupt systems across Twitter’s website, including its recommendation algorithms, spam filters, and help center requests,” the report says.
By the looks of it, Twitter is working behind the scenes to rewrite its code and ensure the smooth removal of legacy verified checkmarks. In a now-deleted tweet, Twitter CEO Elon Musk said that the company will give users a few weeks of “grace” period before snatching the blue ticks.
They can subscribe to Twitter Blue during this period to retain the checkmark. Musk also added that Twitter will immediately remove the checkmark for those who publicly announce that they won’t buy a Blue subscription. This further confirms that it’s a manual process.
It now remains to be seen when Twitter finally pulls the plug on the old verification system. The company has already launched a new system for organizations. It will require companies to pay $1,000 per month to get a new grey checkmark and maintain their verification status.
They can also identify their employees on the platform with a unique “affiliated” badge ($50 for each affiliated account). The top 10,000 most-followed organizations and top 500 advertisers will reportedly get the new checkmark for free.