X Premium+ is now completely ad-free
What's the story
X has announced a significant upgrade to its Premium+ subscription tier. The company confirmed that US subscribers of this $16/month plan will now enjoy a completely ad-free experience across the entire social network. This update marks a departure from the previous model where certain sections of the social media platform still displayed advertisements to Premium+ users.
Policy shift
Previous ad restrictions v/s new policy
Previously, X's Premium+ subscription only removed ads from the 'For You' and 'Following' timelines. Advertisements were still present in other areas of the platform, including profiles, post replies, Immersive Media Viewer, promoted events in Explore section, promoted trends, and suggested accounts to follow. However, X has now confirmed a policy shift with a statement on its own platform: "No more ads anywhere on X. Premium+ is now fully ad-free."
Revenue impact
User concerns and revenue implications addressed
The announcement has raised questions among users about the potential impact on X's revenue-sharing scheme. This program allows users to earn money from X's ad revenue. In response to these concerns, X engineer Eric Farraro clarified that "Revenue is only earned for ads shown to Verified users." He added that "this is one of many ways they mitigate attempts to manipulate the program."
Subscription details
Ad policy remains unchanged for Basic subscribers
Despite the changes to the Premium+ subscription, X's Basic tier subscribers will continue to see advertisements as usual. This tier is priced at $3/month and does not include the new ad-free benefits. Likewise, the Premium subscription will also include half ads in at least 'For You' and 'Following' feeds. The company believes that since ads were already limited for Premium+ users from the start, this change may not significantly impact the revenue it can share with its users.