‘Legacy’ Twitter checkmarks will vanish on April Fool’s Day as Blue subs go global

From PC World: Ah, Twitter. What can I say about the social media platform these days? From massive data leaks to banning third-party clients, it’s a place where chaos thrives. Well, Twitter has added something else to the roster now. The company recently announced that it’ll start removing “legacy verified checkmarks” on April 1st, the biggest day of the year for pranksters and evil doers. It’s weirdly fitting, no? This announcement arrives hot on the heels of Twitter Blue subscriptions rolling out on a global scale.

These “legacy checkmarks” are the verification badges that were under Twitter’s former rules (prior to CEO Elon Musk’s takeover). If you want to keep your checkmark, you’ll need to subscribe to the Twitter Blue, which costs $8 a month or $84 a year. Special features include the ability to edit or undo your Tweets, compose Tweets that exceed the usual 280 characters, and more. Is it worth the additional cost? Well, that’s for you to decide. Personally, it’s not.

This bit of news isn’t all that surprising. Musk has been talking about getting rid of the “legacy verified checkmarks” for quite some time now. Although the Twitter CEO feels like those badges were given out in a “corrupt and nonsensical” way, they’re actually quite useful, as they’re a good indicator of an authentic account. The old verification badges were often used by celebrities, brands, and journalists. Government accounts can apply for a grey checkmark here.

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