By John Ikani
Twitter has updated the description label for verified accounts to show the same message for both legacy and paid checkmarks, making it difficult to tell them apart.
Earlier, Twitter had announced plans to remove the blue checkmark from ‘legacy’ verified users who did not pay for the platform’s subscription service on April 1st, but it seems those plans have been put on hold.
Legacy accounts are those that have been given a blue checkmark to indicate authenticity, and Twitter Blue subscribers can pay to receive the checkmark.
The costs range from $8 a month for individual users to a starting price of $1,000 monthly to verify an organization, plus $50 monthly for each affiliate or employee account.
Previously, Twitter gave separate messages for Twitter Blue subscribers (“This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue”) and legacy verified users (“This is a legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable.”)
Now, all verified accounts will display the same message: “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account.”
Some users welcomed the revised tags as more equitable, while others argued that the message would make it more difficult to determine whether users are genuine accounts or imposters.
For desktop users desirous determining of who paid for the checkmark or not, a Chrome extension released last year can tell the difference.
