Twitter accidentally 'confirms' rumored subscription service, will let you customize app colors

By Michael Allison
published

Twitter logo on a Pixel 4 XL
Twitter logo on a Pixel 4 XL (Image credit: Joe Maring / Android Central)
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Update, May 27 (8:00 p.m. ET): Twitter Blue to feature color themes and reading mode

What you need to know

  • The first details of Twitter subscription plans emerged this weekend.
  • It'll be called Twitter Blue and set you back at least $3 a month.
  • Features will include little tools like 'undo tweet' and bookmark collections.

Twitter's subscription service has just been named. According to social media sleuth and security researcher Jane Manchun Wong, the service has been tentatively dubbed "Twitter Blue" and will cost $2.99 per month.

With Twitter Blue, the company reportedly plans to offer a package of convenience features. The features aren't something you'll miss if you already have Twitter, but they'll also be incredibly nice to have.

First, there's 'undo tweets.' Much like Gmail's 'undo send,' it allows you to undo a tweet and unsend it within a customizable window of time. You don't need to pay for this; Twitter's delete button works perfectly fine. Would it be nice to have for big brands or social media personalities? Certainly.

Twitter is also working on a bookmarks collection for Blue. You'll be able to sort your bookmarks into folders and effectively use Twitter like a scrapbook. With politicians, academics, and media sharing thoughts on Twitter frequently, it can certainly be a useful tool for an archivist. Then again, you can use Pocket or Google Keep or other third-party extensions to collect and catalog tweets anyway, but this is more convenient.

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Wong also says that Twitter plans to offer a lot more than these two features. Its Scroll and Revue acquisitions will certainly tie into Twitter's subscription plans, the company has confirmed as much. What's new here is that Twitter will offer different tiers, which each tier offering more functionality than the last.

Social media has traditionally been free, but companies have been flirting with ways to make users pay for their services — often indirectly. WhatsApp will let you buy from shops in select markets, Instagram and Facebook as well. Both Facebook and TikTok will let you send money to streamers, and so on. This is the first direct mainstream social media subscription service, and others will undoubtedly be paying close attention to how it's received.

Update, May 27 (8:00 p.m. ET) ― More details of Twitter Blue subscription

Jane Manchun Wong has uncovered more information about Twitter Blue. The subscription service was discovered on the iOS app store listing, and it seems she could sign up.

As previously mentioned, the subscription would cost $2.99 per month come with the ability to "undo tweets." Other features Wong was able to uncover include the color themes and app icon customization. It would appear that Twitter is giving users the ability to change the app theme to a color of their choosing, including the app icon.

There's also a "Reader Mode" that will convert your threads to make them easier to read. It's not clear at the moment what that means or how that will look, but it could be similar in some way to the Reading Mode found on many web browsers.

Twitter Blue Features Leak

Source: Jane Manchun Wong / Twitter (Image credit: Source: Jane Manchun Wong / Twitter)

Given the nature of the leak, it would appear that Twitter is not too far from launching its subscription model. The company is currently in the midst of testing several of its monetization features, and this would become yet another way for the company to boost its revenue stream.

Michael Allison
Michael Allison
16 Comments
  • The name makes it sound like it's for porn.
  • Or a stripper name. Good call.
  • Now if it were named "OnlyTweets", perhaps
  • I think I'll be happier with the $3.
  • Will it remove ads? Sorry, I mean will it remove "promoted Tweets"?
  • The end is near....cannot wait for the end of all BS social media. Dumped all accounts last June. Was the best thing I could have ever done. Most of us lived without them for the majority of our lives. None have any redeeming value and are just a giant time suck that keeps people from being present from those they care for. If you have them dump them I guarantee you will be grateful.
  • Seriously, people are willing to use these for free, but does anyone really want to pay to use Twitter? I know it's optional, but this will lead to them slowly moving features that were free to the subscription. This happens every time a company pulls something like this.
  • Never had any so-called social media accounts and never will. Closest to social media are websites like this where I sometimes post. To go on the internet and discuss my inner thoughts and personal functions is ludicrous.
  • Of course, people just love paying for trash! LOL
  • Speaking of ads can AC get rid of these loud blaring ads on here?
  • How else are they supposed to pay for things? These folks don't do this out of the goodness of their hearts. This stuff costs money and ads bring in revenue. The sites that are free with no ads are selling your information and should be looked at skeptically.
  • I thought I was the only one getting annoyed by the ads with AC's app. If there is a pro version of this app, I'd gladly pay to get rid of these ads.
  • One can go to GitHub and download NetGuard and then enable ad block. Wipes them out. Or sign in on Web version. I do agree the ads here are/were horrific.
  • The only way people will actually pay for this crap is if they allow you to edit Tweets but that's never gonna happen
  • It will also let you suppress free-speech, promote government welfare and espouse communist ideals, just like regular Twitter!!
  • If free speech as in hate speech, racism then those deserve to be suppressed and has no place on social media.