Last year, Elon Musk’s social network X (previously known as Twitter) introduced a feature for paying customers that let them hide their blue verification checkmarks from others. Now the company is changing its mind: it’s sending messages to users to tell them this option won’t be around for much longer.
Just like with other decisions at X, there isn’t a clear date for when the switch will happen. But one thing is for sure – taking this away will make the blue checkmark even more confusing. That’s because X just started giving checks to more free users based on how many “verified” followers they have.
Last week, X removed a section from its premium support page that explained how to hide checkmarks. Now in its place, notices are going out directly to paying subscribers. One Twitter user posted a screenshot of the message, which has since gained some attention.
In the past before Elon was in charge, getting a blue tick meant your profile was genuine and important on social media. X changed all that by turning it into something you could buy for a monthly fee. So the symbol didn’t really show verification anymore – it just showed you paid money to the company’s new owners.
Even though some people weren’t proud to spend cash just for a checkmark, X Premium did offer other perks like longer tweets and more messaging. Now those people are upset they may lose the option to hide it.
Larger issues around misinformation, harassment and impersonation still exist on X too. Monetizing the blue tick undermined its original purpose of addressing problems. And X has flipped back and forth on who does and doesn’t get a checkmark multiple times.
All this switching up leaves people confused about what a blue badge really means. X will remove another layer of that confusion by taking away the ability to hide checkmarks very soon. Only time will tell if this latest change helps solve the site’s trust and safety challenges.
