Twitter launched its updated subscription service on Saturday, charging $7.99/month for a verification checkmark and other features.
“Starting today, we’re adding great new features to Twitter Blue, and have more on the way soon,” the company announced on its app’s page in the Apple app store.
Twitter said users who sign up will acquire the “blue checkmark” used to visibly verify users on the platform, describing the feature’s inclusion in the service as giving “power to the people.”
“Your account will get a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow,” the company wrote.
It also listed several features that are “coming soon” to the subscription service.
Twitter Blue members will see half the advertisements that non-paying Twitter users see, and the ads will be “twice as relevant,” according to the social media platform.
Members will also be able to post longer videos to the site and get “priority ranking” in replies, mentions and search.
“This helps lower the visibility of scams, spam, and bots,” explained Twitter of the priority ranking. The company described Twitter Blue subscribers as contributing to its “battle against the bots.”
Twitter Blue with verification is available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. as of Saturday.
Twitter chief Elon Musk confirmed in a tweet that the service would later be opened up in other countries.
“As soon as we confirm it’s working well in the initial set of countries and we have the translation work done, it will roll out worldwide,” he wrote in response to a request to expand Twitter Blue internationally.
Musk’s decision to have users pay for verification has attracted criticism. Following initial reports that he intended to charge verified users to keep the status, several prominent figures currently verified on the platform — including author Stephen King and actress Lynda Carter — pushed back on the plans. Experts have also raised concerns that the change could make it harder to confirm which accounts are legitimate, potentially undermining credibility on the platform.