Twitter's paid subscription services have finally arrived in India, according to a tweet by the company on Thursday, 9 February.
Big bucks: Users will have to shell out ₹900 per month to use Twitter Blue's services on Android and iOS devices.
The subscription plan is also available for purchase on Twitter's website, as long as you have ₹650 to spare every month
Web users can also sign up for an annual subscription plan that costs ₹6,800
What're you springing for? "Blue subscribers with a verified phone number will get a blue checkmark once approved," the company said.
Why it matters: The steep prices for Twitter Blue has raised eyebrows among Indian users who questioned whether it was worth it. Elon Musk, the company's head honcho, had said that the price of Twitter Blue, which costs $8 per month in the US, will be "adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity." This doesn't appear to have been followed through.
Other features on offer include:
Edit tweet button
Prioritised rankings in chats
Ability to post longer tweets (up to 4,000 characters)
Can upload high quality videos
See lesser amount of ads
Customise app icons
Ability to bookmark folders
Access to Spaces tab, NFT profile pictures, themes, custom navigation options, and unlimited bookmarks are also reportedly part of the deal.
- 01/02
(Screenshot: Twitter)
- 02/02
(Screenshot: Twitter)
Besides India, Twitter Blue is also available in Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, the US, New Zealand, Japan, the UK, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Australia.
Ground rules: Twitter Blue is not available for new users who created their accounts less than 90 days ago, the company said.
Twitter Blue subscribers will have to confirm their phone number in order to sign up and get a blue tick
Changing profile photo, display name, or username could cost a Twitter Blue subscriber their blue tick
Between the lines: Musk's plans to monetise the blue tick on Twitter did not go as planned initially. Letting users pay to be verified had resulted in impersonations and chaos across the platform, eventually leading to several users jumping ship to alternative platforms like Mastodon.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)