Twitter could be about to make yet another significant change to its premium service, Twitter Blue.
The social media platform now run by Elon Musk is set to charge a monthly fee of $7 for Twitter Blue signups made via Twitter’s website, and $11 for transactions made through the iPhone app, sources with knowledge of the matter told The Information on Wednesday.
This would replace the blanket monthly fee of $8 that the company was charging before it suspended Twitter Blue signups about a month ago.
Twitter has yet to make any official announcement about the new fee, which appears to be the company’s way of dealing with Apple taking a 30% cut of in-app purchases.
Elon Musk last month voiced displeasure at Apple’s App Store fees, and so the new system, if Twitter implements it, will ensure that the social media platform still receives around $7 for each Blue sign-up made via the App Store.
In reality, however, the new fees will likely prompt most Twitter Blue newcomers to simply sign up via Twitter’s website, saving themselves $4 in the process.
The apparent price change comes a week after Musk tweeted that Apple had “threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why.” Apple chief Tim Cook responded by inviting Musk to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, where the pair had a “good conversation,” according to a later tweet by Twitter’s new boss. Musk also said they’d “resolved the misunderstanding” regarding Twitter’s potential expulsion from the App Store.
Twitter Blue signups could be offered again as soon as this Friday, at which point we’ll be able to get the first look at any price changes.
Twitter Blue is also set to dish out different verification badges, with company Twitter accounts receiving a gold mark, government accounts a gray one, and individuals getting the traditional blue mark.
However, before any account receives a verification mark, Musk said they will be “manually authenticated before [the] check activates.” We should soon get to learn more about precisely what the authentication process involves.
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