Have you ever wondered what it takes to get that prestigious blue verification checkmark on Twitter so your followers know your account is credible?
For years, Twitter‘s opaque legacy verification system rejected most people who applied. But I have great news:
Twitter now offers instant verification through a new monthly subscription plan called Twitter Blue. For just $7.99 per month, any user can finally unlock that elusive blue badge after following some quick account upgrade steps.
In this guide just for you, I‘ll explain:
- The history of verification on Twitter
- Exactly how the new Twitter Blue verification process works
- Step-by-step instructions to subscribe and get verified
- All the bonus features included in a Twitter Blue subscription
- Requirements around display names, switching accounts and more
- What could cause verification status to get removed
Let‘s get you verified, shall we?
Why Verification Matters
But first, why does that little blue checkmark even matter?
Well as Twitter‘s popularity grew, impersonation and fake accounts became an issue. Followers needed a way to know if an account claiming to be a celebrity, brand or public figure was legitimate.
Enter verification.
By verifying an account‘s authenticity, Twitter provides the public indicator that this is the real and official account behind a person, business or organization. It builds credibility and trust between users.
For governments, journalists, brands and public personalities, this badge dramatically helps combat misinformation by confirming legitimate voices. It‘s a sign you are who you say you are.
But the vast majority of users couldn‘t get this status marker…until now.
The Old Guard: How Legacy Twitter Verification Worked
To understand the context around Twitter Blue‘s new verification model, let‘s rewind to understand how the legacy system worked…
Prior to November 2022, verification requests were manually reviewed by Twitter to approve accounts that met their strict ‘‘Authentic, Notable, Active‘‘ (ANA) eligibility criteria:
There were two big problems with the legacy verification process:
- Approval rates were extremely low – by some reports, over 70% of all applicants were rejected. You had to be a very influential figure just to meet the "notability" standards.
- The process itself was very opaque and confusing – it wasn‘t clear why some accounts qualified over others. Appeals were also rarely successful without a big public outcry.
So legacy verification remained an exclusive elite status symbol for years.
But in 2021, Twitter officially suspended their legacy verification program, stopping account reviews.
Then November 2022 brought a radical policy shift…
Introducing Twitter Blue: Pay $7.99 a Month to Automatically Gain Verification
In late 2022, Twitter launched an optional monthly subscription plan called Twitter Blue, initially rolling out to Twitter‘s iOS app in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
And one of the huge benefits included?
Instant blue checkmark verification for all subscribers.
Rather than an exclusive elite status symbol, verification is now a paid privilege open to any user.
The requirements also became much simpler:
✅ Have an account over 90 days old
✅ Pay $7.99 per month for Twitter Blue
✅ Receive instant verification checkmark
That‘s it!
No arduous application process or waiting months to hear back like the legacy system. Just pay up and unlock verification.
Let‘s get you subscribed, shall we?
Step 1: Update Your Twitter iOS App
Since Twitter Blue launched in late 2022, you first need to make sure you‘ve updated to the latest Twitter iOS app version containing the subscription option:
- Open the App Store on your iPhone or iPad
- Tap your profile icon in the top right corner
- Go to the Updates section
- If Twitter says "Update" instead of "Open", tap Update to install the latest version
You‘ll need the latest Twitter app from the App Store to access Blue.
Step 2: Open Your Twitter Profile Menu
Once updated, open the Twitter app on your device and tap your profile icon in the top left corner:
This will open your Twitter profile menu overlay:
Here you can access all your Twitter account settings.
Step 3: Tap Twitter Blue to Open Subscription Page
Within the profile menu, you should now see a prominent Twitter Blue option. Go ahead and tap it:
This will open a Twitter Blue subscription page with more details:
Almost there!
Step 4: Tap Subscribe & Follow Payment Steps
At the bottom, you‘ll see the total $7.99 monthly cost for a Twitter Blue subscription. Go ahead and tap the blue Subscribe button:
Depending on your iOS app payment setup, you may need to:
- Log in with your Apple ID account
- Enter credit/debit card details
- Confirm some final payment authorization steps
Once subscribed, you‘ll immediately gain verification status!
Check Your New Verification Badge
Head back to your Twitter profile and you should now see that glorious blue checkmark next to your handle indicating you‘ve been verified:
Congratulations! You finally gained coveted verification status on Twitter through their new Blue subscription in just a few minutes. Let‘s check what else Twitter Blue offers…
More Than Just Verification: Additional Twitter Blue Features
Beyond verification status, your ~$8 Twitter Blue subscription unlocks other useful account perks like:
Undo Tweet
- Set tweets as unpublished for an adjustable timer before posting publicly
- Gives you a chance to preview tweets and edit before others see them
Custom Navigation
- Rearrange or remove items in the bottom bar nav for convenience
- Helps reduce clicks to frequent destinations like notifications
There are also experimental Twitter Labs early previews of upcoming features, a handy Reader Mode to cleanly format threads, custom Themes and much more.
Here‘s a quick visual overview of some popular features:
Let‘s dig deeper into a couple premium extras…
Undo Tweet Feature
One of my personal favorites is Undo Tweet, which adds an adjustable delay before your tweets go public.
You can set this buffer between 5 seconds up to 1 minute. This acts as a valuable "edit window" where you can quickly fix typos or retract tweets entirely if you change your mind:
No more embarrassing, irreversible tweet mistakes!
Custom Navigation
Twitter Blue also offers custom navigation options for rearranging or removing items in the bottom bar:
With Blue, you can drag items to customize based on whether you value Likes, Lists, Bookmarks or other destinations. Less used items can be removed for convenience.
This enhanced navigation control helps optimize your most frequent Twitter workflows.
Now that you know the core steps to get instant verification and have a tour of other handy Twitter Blue perks, let‘s cover some key questions around maintaining verification status.
Display Name Changes and Account Switching
Once gaining a verification badge from Twitter Blue, there are restrictions in place around display name changes.
You can modify your @handle, but verified accounts are blocked from changing the public-facing display name associated with the checkmark. This avoids confusion after followers are familiar with your name.
There are also limitations in place when switching between multiple Twitter accounts on the same device while enrolled in Twitter Blue.
Only the primary account used to subscribe can benefit from the verification checkmark and other Twitter Blue features. Secondary accounts remain unchanged with no checkmark inherited.
If you switch your iOS device‘s primary account mid-subscription, verification status would be removed from the old account when billing transfers.
So choose your main Twitter account wisely before subscribing!
Risk Factors: How You Could Lose Verification Status
It‘s important to note there are still some risks where your newly-gained verification checkmark could disappear:
- Unsubscribing from the paid Twitter Blue service will immediately remove verification (the checkmark only lasts while actively subscribed)
- Getting your account suspended for violating Twitter rules
- Having your account locked until resolving an issue like unusual activity
If your checkmark vanishes unexpected, you may need to resolve an outstanding suspension or subscription payment issue before regaining verification status.
Reporting Misuse of Verification Badges
In an open system where anyone can pay their way to instant verification, there is room for potential abuse.
If you see a verified account engaging in clear parody/impersonation or intentional misrepresentation, you can submit a report to Twitter for review.
Click the ⠇ icon on a tweet by a potentially suspicious verified user, then Report Tweet > It‘s suspicious or misleading > Pretending to be someone else.
Submit details explaining your concerns about the account‘s behavior and提供了详细的解释。
Twitter may reach out or revoke verification depending on investigation findings.
The Future of Verification on Twitter
While Twitter Blue democratizes verification access to any interested user, many have valid concerns about diluting the previous meaning and credibility behind the blue badge.
There are now effectively two tiers of verification – legacy vs paid – but they look identical to casual users. Some verified accounts have even begun opting-out due to confusion.
I predict Twitter may evolve to a multi-color verification system at some point, with unique badging to distinguish types of ID-confirmation. Government IDs may unlock "gold checkmarks" while third-party validation could involve other colors like green or purple.
Access fees could also shift, with legacy verification becoming a one-time payment. Or badges could synergize with other account features like display prominence.
As their verification strategy matures post-launch, Twitter must balance integrity, accessibility and incentives along with user feedback. But for now enjoy your new Blue perks!
I hope this guide brought you up to speed on all things Twitter verification – from legacy policies to the game-changing Twitter Blue subscription making checkmarks purchasable. We covered step-by-step instructions to enroll along with other premium features beyond basic verification too.
You now have all the tools to join verified status just like the experts! Here‘s to your new credibility badge boosting your Twitter presence.