Twitter says its subscription service, Twitter Blue, will now be available to Android users at $11 per month, while users who opt to subscribe for the service via the web will pay a discounted amount of $84 per year.
The $11 price for Android users is the same for iOS subscribers.
Subscription to the service comes with the coveted blue verification check mark, which was previously free but only available to accounts belonging to politicians, celebrities, journalists, famous personalities, and other public figures who could be impersonated.
The verification feature was added to Twitter Blue after Elon Musk took control of the company in October last year, as a means of generating income for Twitter following the exit of many advertisers.
Other features which Musk added to the service are 60-minute video uploads and priority ranking in conversation replies. Paid users will also have access to old features of the service like the edit tweet feature, a thread reader, and custom icons and themes.
There is also a monthly subscription option for web users at $8, however, the cheapest subscription method is the annual $84 option, also available to web users.
WEEKDAYS SMART NEWS reported in December that Twitter hiked the price of Blue for iOS users from $7.99 to $11 per month in a bid to offset Apple’s App Store fees.
The $11 being charged to Android users is likely meant to offset the charges levied by Android’s Google Play Store, much like Apple’s App Store.
Twitter Blue is currently available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, and most recently, Japan.
Former Owner Reacts As Twitter Bans ‘Free Promotion’ Of Other Social Media Accounts By Users.
Micro blogging platform, Twitter, has announced that it will no longer allow its users to promote rival social media platforms on the app.
The new rule is the latest policy change under new Twitter CEO, Elon Musk. It comes after some users began encouraging their followers to interact with them on other platforms amid 8 8
changes ongoing at Twitter.
The affected rival platforms are: Facebook, Instagram, Truth Social, Mastodon, Tribel, Nostr and Post.
This was announced on Twitter via the platform’s support page, @TwitterSupport.
“We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter.
“Specifically, we will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content that contains links or usernames for the following platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr and Post.
“We still allow cross-posting content from any social media platform. Posting links or usernames to social media platforms not listed above are also not in violation of this policy,” the tweets read.
The policy will also affect third-party social media link aggregators such as linktr.ee and ink.bio, which are especially popular among social media influencers.
“At both the Tweet level and the account level, we will remove any free promotion of prohibited 3rd-party social media platforms, such as linking out (i.e. using URLs) to any of the below platforms on Twitter, or providing your handle without a URL.
“Users would thus be barred, for example, from posting “Follow me @username on Instagram,” Twitter said.
The platform added consequences which violators of the new policy would face.
Fist time offenders would face actions ranging from “requiring deletion of one or more Tweets to temporarily locking account(s).
“Any subsequent offenses will result in permanent suspension,” Twitter said.
Twitter co-founder and former CEO, Jack Dorsey responded to the new policy asking, “Why?”
WEEKDAYS SMART NEWS has reported on changes that Musk has made since acquiring Twitter and assuming the position of CEO.
He introduced a paid verification service on the platform for $8 which was meant to verify users accounts. The service had to be suspended for a while and then relaunched due to an influx of fake accounts spreading misinformation.
He also restored the Twitter accounts of some previously suspended users like former President Donald Trump.
Musk also laid off almost half of Twitter’s staff after his takeover, including its CEO, CFO and other top officials.
