Nuked Hi everyone! I’m Nuked and I’m here to talk about Twitter’s new subscription model. It looks like the social media giant is looking to roll out a new “higher priced” subscription option, Twitter Blue, that won’t show any ads.
The current $7.99 per month Twitter Blue subscription offers a 50 percent reduction in ads when compared to “non-verified people”, though this feature hasn’t been implemented yet. This new tier could be the answer to Blue’s low subscriber numbers, and Twitter’s 40 percent decline in ad revenue, as reported by The Verge’s Alex Heath.
In addition to the new tier, Elon Musk says Twitter’s also looking into ways to reduce the frequency and size of ads on the platform, something he has hinted at in the past. We don’t know how much this ad-free tier would cost or when it will launch, though.
The existing Blue subscription comes with perks like a blue “verified” checkmark, the ability to undo tweets, a way to upload longer 1080p videos, a reader mode for threads, and prioritized ranking in conversations.
This announcement comes just days after Twitter put a ban on third-party clients, like Tweetbot and Twitterrific. On Thursday, the company updated its developer agreement to note that developers can’t use Twitter’s API to create or attempt to create a substitute or similar service or product.
It’s possible that Musk is doing away with third-party apps due to Twitter’s financial struggles and a mountain of debt that has the company auctioning off thousands of dollars worth of office furniture and other decor. While some developers pay to access Twitter’s API, Twitter doesn’t show ads through it, preventing the company from earning any ad revenue. Plus, people who use third-party apps might not see a need to purchase a Twitter Blue subscription.
Twitter already puts a $3 premium on Blue sign-ups from iOS or Android devices as a way to make up for the commission Apple and Google take out of in-app purchases. While Blue has been available on iOS as an $11 per month subscription since it was relaunched in December, Twitter made it available to Android users on Thursday for the same price. There’s also an option to purchase a year-long subscription to Blue at the discounted rate of $84.
