(Reuters) – Twitter Inc. Saturday is an $8 per month subscription service for its social media platform that includes a blue check mark, and offers an updated version on the Apple App Store.
In an update for Apple’s iOS devices, Twitter said those who “subscribe now” can have the coveted blue check mark next to their usernames, “just like the celebrities, businesses and politicians you already follow.”
A blue check mark next to a person’s username means Twitter has confirmed that the account belongs to the person or company you’re claiming
According to an iOS notice, other benefits of the update include “half the number of ads,” the ability to post longer videos on Twitter, and prioritization for higher-quality content.
New Twitter chief Elon Musk pointed to the new service earlier this week in his quest to monetize the social network and make it less dependent on ads. Twitter is currently free for most users.
The Twitter update said that the new, verified service will be available in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
“Once we confirm it’s working well in the initial set of countries and translation work done, it will roll out worldwide,” Musk said in a tweet on Saturday.
However, according to a tweet Saturday from Esther Crawford, Twitter’s early stage product executive, the new Twitter Blue service is available, but not yet released.
“New Blue is not yet live – speed towards our launch continues, but some may see us making updates as we test and push changes in real time,” he said in a tweet.
Earlier this week, Crawford went viral after retweeting a photo of her sleeping on the floor of her Twitter office in San Francisco after Musk’s inauguration.
“When your team pushes all day to meet deadlines, we sometimes #SleepWhereYouWork.”
“Thinker. Professional twitter fanatic. Certified introvert. Troublemaker. Unapologetic zombie maven.”