Microblogging platform Twitter on Thursday announced the launch of Twitter Blue, its first subscription service that will offer exclusive features, including undoing tweets within a stipulated time.
The “first iteration” of Twitter Blue is being rolled out in Australia and Canada, and the service will be available for a monthly price of CAD 3.49 (about Rs 210) or AUD 4.49.
“Our hope with this initial phase is to gain a deeper understanding of what will make your Twitter experience more customised, more expressive, and generally speaking more… a free Twitter is not going away, and never will. This subscription offer is simply meant to add enhanced and complementary features to the already existing Twitter experience for those who want it,” Twitter said in a blogpost.
Those signing up for a Twitter Blue subscription will get access to Bookmark Folders that will let users organise the tweets they have saved.
The ‘reader mode’ will provide a better reading experience to make it easier for users to keep up with long threads on Twitter by turning them into easy-to-read text.
An interesting feature is the ‘Undo Tweet’ feature.
Users can set a customisable timer of up to 30 seconds to click ‘Undo’ before the Tweet, reply, or thread users have sent. Currently, users can’t edit tweets that have been posted and can only delete such content.
Subscribers will also get access to perks such as customisable app icons for their device’s home screen and fun colour themes for their Twitter app, and will have access to dedicated subscription customer support, the blog said.
Earlier in May 2021, Twitter said it is working on Ticketed Spaces, the first monetising feature of its audio chat feature called Spaces. As a part of this, the creators or speakers will be allowed to set a charge for the listeners looking to tune into their conversation rooms.
The company said: “Ticketed Spaces: we are working on a way for hosts to be rewarded for the experiences they create and for listeners to have exclusive access to the convos they care about most. Soon, we’ll test ticketed Spaces with a small group where hosts can set ticket prices and quantity.
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)