Twitter is killing legacy blue ticks on April 1: What happens next?

Twitter has announced that it is killing its legacy blue ticks on April 1, 2023. While it may seem like an April Fool’s prank at first, but it’s not. The company has confirmed the development via a post from its official Twitter Verified handle. It has also updated its support pages to reflect the change.

“Starting April 1, we’ll be winding down our legacy Verification program and accounts that were verified under the previous criteria (active, notable, and authentic) will not retain a blue checkmark unless they are subscribed to Twitter Blue,” the company wrote in an update on a support page.

Users who want to keep their blue tick post the change comes into effect on April 1, 2023, will have to opt for Twitter’s premium, Twitter Blue subscription service. For the unversed, Twitter Blue costs Rs 6,800 annually or Rs 650 per month on the web and Rs 9,400 annually or Rs 900 on Android and iOS mobile apps.

On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue here: https://t.co/gzpCcwOpLp

Organizations can sign up for https://t.co/RlN5BbuGA3…

— Twitter Verified (@verified) March 23, 2023

While Twitter’s decision to axe its legacy blue ticks might seem a bit sudden, the move was announced by the company’s CEO Elon Musk back in December last year. At the time, Musk had said that the legacy blue ticks are ‘corrupt and non-sensical’ and that the company would remove them completely in the coming months.

In a few months, we will remove all legacy blue checks. The way in which they were given out was corrupt and nonsensical.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12, 2022

Now, nearly four months later, the company is all set to sunset the feature for good. It is also replacing it with various coloured tick marks that will help in identifying the nature of the account. A blue tick mark means that the account has an active Twitter Blue subscription and that it meets the company’s eligibility requirements. A gold tick mark means that the account is an individual’s or a business’ official account. Similarly, the company is reserving gray checkmark for government and multilateral accounts.