Twitter to start phasing out legacy verification system on April 1, but not all will lose blue checks

Twitter plans to wind down its legacy verification system starting next week as it promotes its subscription-based system. 

The Twitter Verified account on the platform tweeted on Thursday that the company will phase out the older verification program and begin removing legacy checkmarks starting April 1. It said users who want to keep their checkmarks should subscribe to Twitter Blue, the subscription service that provides users with verification for $8 per month. 

But all legacy verified accounts might not necessarily be removed. CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Friday that any individual whose account is affiliated with a verified organization will be “automatically verified.” 

Musk instituted Twitter Blue after he acquired the company in October as a way for it to close the gap on its multi-billion-dollar debt. He said in February that he planned to sunset the legacy verification, which he called “deeply corrupted.” 

The platform’s necessary qualifications for Twitter Blue beyond the $8 per month include having a display name and profile photo, being active in the past 30 days, having a confirmed phone number and having an account older than 90 days upon subscribing. 

The account must also have no signs of being “deceptive or misleading” or of engaging in platform manipulation and spam. 

The previous requirements for the legacy verification were that the account was “authentic, notable, and active.” 

The Twitter Blue system had some issues upon its first rollout, as many paid for the subscription and posed as famous people. Musk paused the system for a few weeks before launching it again.