Twitter Blue subscription finally launched in Australia, Canada
What's the story
Twitter has finally launched its first-ever subscription plan - Twitter Blue in Australia and Canada. The speculations about such service were earlier confirmed through several sources including renowned application analyst Jane Manchun Wong, Apple App Store listing, and Twitter's Play Store listing. The service will offer undo tweet functionality, "Reader Mode," and bookmarked Collections for a recurring monthly subscription fee. Here are more details.
Going freemium
Why is Twitter transitioning to freemium model with paywalled features?
Apple's new guidelines mandate user consent before application developers can use cross-site trackers to deliver better-targeted advertisements. Since then, many social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook (and its subsidiaries), and Google have moved to recurring subscriptions for revenue. In March, Wong had uncovered an in-development Undo Tweet button animation, which was speculated to be an optional feature available for a monthly subscription.
Confirmation
Three independent sightings suggested subscription will cost $2.99/month
Wong had predicted that access to the paywalled features would cost $2.99/month. Thereafter, she reported that the subscription had a name—Twitter Blue. This was later confirmed by Twitter's App Store listing, alongside the fee. Most recently, Android Police spotted the subscription mentioned on the Google Play Store at $2.99/month. In Canada and Australia, the service will cost $3.49 CAD and $4.49 AUD, respectively.
Feature overview
Twitter Blue gives Twitterati access to long-awaited features
Twitter Blue's features available in Australia and Canada for now include Undo Tweet, Bookmark Folders, and Reader Mode. Undo Tweet gives users up to a 30-second-long buffer to undo before the tweet is actually published. Bookmark Folders lets you curate tweets and sort them into Collections. Meanwhile, Reader Mode converts long tweet threads into a more conveniently readable format.
Announce it already!
Will Twitter launch its first-ever paid subscription globally?
Meanwhile, a Twitter user also spotted the App Store changelog for Twitter's app version 8.68 mentioning Twitter Blue. This could mean that Twitter intends to roll out its first-ever paid subscription globally. Twitter hasn't officially confirmed Twitter Blue subscription's availability in other parts of the world just yet. However, we remain hopeful that after initial troubles are ironed out, availability should be widespread.