Twitter, a microblogging site, introduced Twitter Blue in India, Brazil, and Indonesia on February 8, with the membership for the website priced at Rs 650 per month and the membership for the Android and iOS apps at Rs 900 per month.
The tech giant is also offering a discounted annual plan of Rs 6,800 per year, which comes down to Rs 566.67 per month.
For those wondering why the cost for Apple and Google app subscriptions, the higher cost is due to commission which ranges between 15 to 30 per cent charged by the apps.
With the recent launch, the feature will be available in 15 markets, including the United States, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom.
Features of Twitter Blue
The updated Twitter Blue subscription will offer members a verified blue checkmark, the ability to edit tweets, add NFT profile pictures, customize app icons, organize bookmarks, post longer videos of up to 60 minutes, and get early access to new features.
From Wednesday, Twitter Blue started allowing members in the United States to create long tweets up to 4,000 characters. These long tweets will be limited to 280 characters, with the addition of a 'show more' prompt.
Additionally, Twitter Blue subscribers will also see fewer ads on their timelines, as the number of ads will go down by 50 per cent. The tweets by the Twitter Blue member will also receive priority over the others.
Elon Musk also announced earlier this month that the company will share a part of the ad revenue with creators for the ads that will appear in their reply threads, as long as the creators are members of Twitter Blue. However, the details of this were not provided by the company or Musk.
The company continues to struggle with its debt, and Musk is facing a massive challenge to revive its revenues. To add to his worries, the global economic downturn has severely impacted online advertising, hitting companies like Twitter, Alphabet, and Meta, which depend on ads for their revenue.
This is a way for Twitter to make ends meet, but this new feature has not had a very positive response, as only 180,000 people in the United States have opted for this feature as of mid-January. This is less than 0.2 per cent of the company's monthly active users in the country, according to The Information.
How can you subscribe to Twitter Blue?
On the website, you can click on "Twitter Blue" in the left column and then choose your preferred plan. You can then go ahead and make the payment and take advantage of the new features.
