Guwahati: Twitter appears to have disabled its USD 7.99 Twitter Blue subscription service in the most recent chapter of the blue tick story, according to reports.
Twitter developed a service that gave them access to the blue profile verification checkmark for its iOS users. Mashable reports that the sidebar option that was once present for Twitter’s iOS app is no longer visible.
The Verge noticed reports from users saying the feature is unavailable. They got an error message that read, “Thank you for your interest! Twitter Blue will be available in your country in the future. Please check back later.”
The new, USD 7.99 Twitter Blue that was introduced earlier this week has suddenly disappeared following the purchase of the verification by multiple users who wanted to pose as well-known brands and celebrities.
As soon as the premium verification option became available, numerous bogus profiles of well-known individuals, including former US President Donald Trump, appeared on the platform. Even the video game character “Super Mario” and the Lakers player LeBron James were impersonated by certain verified accounts.
Elon Musk took the situation into his own hands and tweeted that any account attempting to mimic another person will be disabled unless the account owner declared it to be a parody account.
As per The Verge, Twitter even launched a new verification badge, a grey tick designating accounts as “official,” in an effort to counteract the rise in fake accounts. Within a few days, the company introduced this feature and then withdrew it before reintroducing it again.
Meanwhile, this Twitter Blue subscription inaccessibility could potentially be a temporary withdrawal while Twitter resolves its problems or some form of error. The fact that features are being added and then removed in a matter of days, if not hours, is just another illustration of how chaotic things are at Twitter since its acquisition by Musk.