Twitter Blue expands globally as legacy blue check marks are set to disappear soon

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(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • Twitter Blue is now available globally for users to sign up.
  • The subscription gives users a blue checkmark and access to additional features in the app on the web.
  • Government agencies are now able to sign up for grey checkmarks.
  • Twitter will retire legacy blue checkmarks starting on April 1.

After a confusing relaunch of Twitter Blue in late 2022, the social media platform announced on Thursday that subscription has now expanded globally, allowing anyone users around the world access to exclusive features.

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When Twitter Blue was relaunched, access was initially limited to iOS users in select regions before expanding to the web and eventually Android. Access to the subscription has also gradually expanded to more regions, and now, anyone interested in the extra perks can sign up. In the United States, the subscription costs $8 on the web and $11 on Android and iOS. You can view Twitter's FAQ for details on pricing by country.

Those perks include early access to features in testing, longer videos, higher quality uploads, longer tweets (up to 4,000 characters), and the ability to edit tweets. Some promised features have not yet arrived, such as priority in conversations and half the amount of ads as non-subscribers. For now, those features are listed as "coming soon."

While access to Twitter Blue grants users a blue checkmark next to their names, the company announced on Thursday that it plans to retire the legacy blue checks that were given to previously verified users (before the subscription added that mark). Elon Musk has previously called these marks "truly corrupt," which was essentially his motivation for rushing to add them to the Twitter Blue subscription. For users with this mark, clicking it would present users with a notice indicating that it's a legacy verified account and that it "may or may not be notable."

These will start disappearing on April 1, although previously verified businesses can receive a golden checkmark.

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Lastly, Twitter announced that "eligible government and multilateral accounts" are now able to apply for grey checkmarks to further differentiate themselves and their officials.

Derrek Lee
News Editor

Derrek is a long-time Nokia and LG fanboy who loves astronomy, videography, and sci-fi movies. When he's not working, he's most likely working out or smoldering at the camera.