Twitter, the beloved bird app that has given us cursed content for the price of zero dollars every day since 2006 has a premium service – Twitter Blue. It launched in June 2021, but Twitter keeps drip-feeding updates to those willing to fork out the cash.
Even more so with its new chief twit, Elon Musk.
Twitter Blue is basically the app’s fancy paid service that I imagine is the equivalent of Tinder Gold for people who spend too much time tweeting their stupid thoughts (see: me).
But if you’re already spending an unhealthy amount of time on the cursed blue app, you might wonder what a paid service actually offers. Look no further, my friend, because we’re about to unpack everything you need to know about Twitter Blue.
What is Twitter Blue?
Twitter is a great example of fixing something that’s broken, but in all the wrong ways — enter Twitter Blue. Twitter Blue is the social media platform’s answer to a monthly subscription service that gives Twitter users all the features they never wanted for a price.
Twitter Blue, per its namesake’s website, is “a monthly subscription that gives the most engaged people on Twitter exclusive access to premium features,” which is a hilariously vague description.
It also has another feature: blue tick verification, which has been getting a lot of buzz (chirp??) lately.
Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months.
We will keep what works & change what doesn’t.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 9, 2022
Sorry, I meant to include this tweet:
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 8, 2022
Will it change how I use Twitter?
Short answer? No. Long answer? Yes.
Free Twitter isn’t going away, but despite a pre-Musk era spokesperson saying it “never will” change, it’s changing under the main character man. It’s not changing changing, but certain things are.
How much is Twitter Blue?
When Twitter Blue launched, it was priced at $4.49. Now, it will set you back $19 per month on Android and iOS and $13 a month on the web. You’ll save some cash if you pay for an annual web subscription, which is a cool $135. Quick maths says you’ll save $21 if you buy the 12-month pass, but….yeah, it’s still $135 to use a social media service only marginally differently to the way you already do.
Twitter Blue features
The Blue Tick
Upon purchase, all Twitter Blue features will be available immediately except the blue checkmark, which may take time to appear to ensure review of subscribed accounts meet all requirements. Until now, Twitter used the blue checkmark to indicate active, notable, and authentic accounts of public interest that Twitter had independently verified based on certain requirements. Now the blue checkmark may mean two different things: either that an account was verified under the previous verification criteria (active and authentic), or that the account has an active subscription to Twitter Blue.
Undo tweet
One of these features that Twitter has loved to tout in the marketing for Twitter Blue is the “Undo Tweet,” which was a spiritual precursor to the edit button, where users have 60 seconds to edit a tweet after it’s been published. While this may be useful for larger accounts that see engagement immediately after a tweet has been published, for us little guys, the “Delete” button will work just fine. With the Undo Tweet function, you can set a timer of up to 30 seconds to be able to “undo” a tweet and delete it from a thread, tweet or reply.
Edit tweet
After asking for an edit button for 15 years and receiving roundabout answers from Twitter, users were sceptical. Let’s not forget that Twitter said it was working on an edit button on April Fool’s Day this year as a joke. But alas, the feature is finally here for those that pay.
if you see an edited Tweet it’s because we’re testing the edit button
this is happening and you’ll be okay
— Twitter (@Twitter) September 1, 2022
Reader Mode
Gone are the days of trying to read lengthy threads that feel clunky and split up. With Twitter Blue’s Reader Mode, you can read the whole thread in plain text, so those lengthy threads read more like an e-book and less like a million individual tweets.
Bookmark folders
If you’re like me, you probably abuse the “like” function as a way to save things for future reading. However, this makes it super difficult when you need to find things later on and have to scroll through a seemingly endless pile of things you thought were funny at 2 am. To aid this, Twitter Blue introduced Bookmarks Folders, which allows you to sort your saved tweets in categories such as “things to buy” and “funny tweets”. You can an unlimited number of bookmarks and Bookmark folders which are always private.
Life, but ad-free
When you visit a handful of U.S.-based news site from Twitter, with your Blue sub, you can now get an ‘ad-free experience’. This was formerly known as Scroll. Twitter is also giving a portion of the revenue from Twitter Blue subscriptions to publishers within its network. You can also see the most-shared articles in your network over the last 24 hours. The pitch for this one is so you can immediately see what’s important in you area.
Twitter Blue Labs
Twitter Blue Labs gives those subscribed early access to new features, before everyone else. These features might eventually make their way to those not paying, or Twitter could shutter them if its testbed says they’re trash. The first one available to subscribers is the ability to upload videos of up to 10-minutes (as opposed to the standard ~2 minutes for non-subscribers) via Longer Video Uploads. You can also pin your favourite conversations to the top of DM’s with Pinned Conversations.
Other benefits
Twitter Blue subscribers will also be able to get a number of other benefits like customisable icons and colour themes for the Twitter app, as well as how the Twitter app icon appears on your phone. You’ll have access to custom navigation, which lets you choose what appears in your navigation bar, so you get quick access to the content and Twitter destinations you care about most. The ‘top articles’ shortcut to the most-shared articles in your network, and a feature that prioritises your replies on Tweets that you interact with.
Twitter plans to add more features and benefits now it has unleashed Twitter Blue to a few more people. Twitter Blue is currently only available in Australia, the U.S., Canada and New Zealand.
This article has been updated since it was first published.