Twitter

Twitter Help warns that other users may still be able to tell if you're a subscriber.

X users who subscribe to the “Blue” service now have the option to hide their “checkmark,” according to a recently updated Twitter Help article. 

Owner Elon Musk had previously warned that he wasn’t afraid to keep “blowing things up” as he and newly-appointed X CEO Linda Yaccarino continue to fudge the subscription service features further.

How it started:

Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.

Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022

One of Musk’s first moves upon his purchase of X, then Twitter, was to reconfigure the long-standing verification system. Previous to Musk’s changes, the service issued the checkmark to account holders considered noteworthy or those whose identity risked impersonation. These included celebrities, politicians, and journalists.

Twitter cleared the slate upon Musk’s implementation of the new subscription based system. Under the current X “Blue” subscription service, users are issued a checkmark once they pay for the service and attach a phone number to their account.

How it’s going:

You know your brand is good when your most successful business move is to hide it. Watch as they make this the default for twitter blue subscribers https://t.co/WhyvXUxYx2

— Ed Zitron (@edzitron) August 2, 2023

X now offers subscribers the option to choose not to display their subscription badge. It’s unclear as to why the company is offering the choice — X typically replies to request for clarity with poop emojis — but the accompanying Twitter Help page does warn subscribers that the toggle isn’t definitive:

“The checkmark may still appear in some places and some features could still reveal you have an active subscription.”

Preprint research from a team at Princeton, published in June 2023, found that accounts who obtained a Blue subscription after the verification changes were disproportionately made up of those whose engagement consists of “posting conservative political content, exhibiting positive views about Elon Musk, and promoting cryptocurrencies.”

Unfortunately for those subscribers with good intentions, the association to cryptocurrency scams, hardline extremist political views, and the polarizing nature of Musk’s shadow over the global technology landscape have given the checkmark symbol a negative connotation among many X users.

Now you can hide or show your Blue checkmark on iPhone

The reason why some people may want to do it is because there’re still people who block people with blue check marks (as blocking negatively affect visibility).

I’ll keep my check mark because it shows that I verified my… pic.twitter.com/ZLrNF6RXZK

— Kris Kashtanova (@icreatelife) August 2, 2023

Amid the new changes to the online social media platform now known as X, users have begun to debate on what to name the iconic posts formerly called tweets.

The social media platform formerly known as Twitter began its metamorphosis from its iconic blue bird, tweet-centric operations, to its new form as ‘X’ on July 24. 

X has replaced its bird logo with a simple white X, along with a color scheme shift from the trademark sky-blue to black and white. While links continue to read “twitter.com,” the web address “x.com” currently redirects over to the Twitter address.

pic.twitter.com/dxbsqwcYv7

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2023

Elon Musk, the owner of X and former CEO of the platform, said the rebrand is part of an entirely new strategy for the social media site. This includes turning it into a hub through which users can conduct their “entire financial world,” according to Musk. 

There has been a great deal of hype surrounding the changes on the platform, with many users left with mixed feelings about the changes. Twitter began in 2006 and has created a legacy with its former branding, giving a new meaning to the words “tweet” and “tweeting.”

Some users have called the decision to rebrand “insane,” while stating that they will continue to call the platform by its old name. 

sorry dude, i’m still callin it twitter.

— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) July 23, 2023

Cointelegraph created a community survey on Twitter to poll readers and users of the platform what they believe the posts on the platform should be referred to with the options of “tweet,” “xeet” and a space for users to offer their own ideas. 

Let’s decide, anons! What are we going to call it now?

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 25, 2023

At the time of writing, there have been 692 votes with “tweet” and “xeet” in a tie at 45%. Users offered up suggestions for post names which include “drops,” “crossings,” “xpresssions,” “tweex” and “Xtweets.”

Related: Twitter to impose daily limits on DMs for unverified accounts

Other users across the internet have also offered up renaming possibilities, including various pop-culture references.

Twix pic.twitter.com/aukUxocgbA

— Domenico - Micro SaaS Guy (@DG_9_6) July 24, 2023

Despite users’ guesses, Musk has yet to make any concrete comment as to the future of “tweets” on the platform. 

Instead, trademark attorneys are already predicting that the branding shift to X could spark lawsuits costing upwards of millions over the coming years.

Attorney Josh Gerben said on July 25 via a thread on X, that other U.S.-based companies including Microsoft and Meta already are in possession of similar “x” trademarks for different products and services, while many others could also have grounds for similar lawsuits.

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