After much anticipation, Twitter has launched its Twitter Blue subscription offer. As expected, it’s aimed at power users — those who use the platform a great deal — with Twitter keen to emphasize that “free Twitter is not going away” and that the subscription features are simply intended to enhance the Twitter experience for those who want them.
Twitter confirmed that it was exploring the possibility of a subscription offering last year, with the company seeking to broaden its revenue base beyond just advertising. That has become more pressing this year, with Apple having rolled out its App Tracking Transparency feature to iOS, limiting the amount of data that apps can collect and that can therefore be monetized. Various leaks and speculation have suggested what features would be included with Twitter Blue, but the finer details had not been confirmed by Twitter until today.
For starters, Twitter has confirmed that Twitter Blue will first be made available in Australia and Canada at monthly costs of $3.49 CAD or $4.49 AUD, respectively. It intends to use this initial limited rollout as a way to gather feedback and gauge user response to the subscription offer. It also says it plans to add more features and perks to Twitter Blue over time.
Twitter Blue Subscription Features
At launch, there are three central features of Twitter Blue, as well as some additional perks. Bookmarks Folders allow users who save a lot of Tweets as bookmarks to organize them into different categories. Until now, users have only been able to save all bookmarked Tweets to one long list. Twitter Blue subscribers are still able to view bookmarks like this in an ‘All Bookmarks’ folder, but can also create custom-named folders to which Tweets can be saved.
The much sought-after Undo Tweet feature has also now made an appearance. Users can set a timer of up to 30 seconds that will countdown after they have hit send so that they can preview how Tweets will look and recall them for editing before they are put live if they spot any typos or errors. And Reader Mode provides a cleaner reading experience that makes it easier to digest long threads. It removes elements like usernames, profile images, and Tweet information to just present the content of Tweets as easy-to-read text with in-line media.
In addition to these main features, Twitter says subscribers have access to additional perks like customizable app icons, color themes for the Twitter app, and access to dedicated subscription customer support. As well as developing the Twitter Blue subscription offer over time, it’s thought that other tiers may also be introduced.
