Formerly known as Twitter, 'X' corp to let users hide their subscribed blue checks

X Corp, formerly known as Twitter, has rolled out a new feature that will allow its premium users to hide their once touted as prestigious blue check marks. Twitter accounts that have an opt-in, paid subscription to the Blue Ticks for $8 a month can now choose to hide the verification badge, the company announced in an update on its help centre page. The users' ability to hide the blue check mark is a new addition to the already existing subscribed features for the Twitter Blue now known as the 'X Blue'. 

“As a subscriber, you can choose to hide your checkmark on your account. The check mark will be hidden on your profile and posts. The checkmark may still appear in some places and some features could still reveal you have an active subscription," the company update on the help center read. 

No Blue perks if checkmark hidden?

Should a user decide to hide their blue check, other Blue perks may not be available to them, according to the microblogging site. X Corp CEO Elon Musk, however, stated that the teams are continuing to work on improving this new function. With the pricing starting at $8/month or $84/year in the countries where service is available, the Blue Ticks on the account offer early access to selected features such as Edit post. The Verified Organizations, meanwhile, is a separate service for businesses, governments and non-profits on X which comes with a gold checkmark.

X Blue offers a variety of other features to its users such as the Half Ads, implying approximately 50 per cent fewer ads for the premium users and twice as many organic or non-promoted posts, prioritised rankings in conversations, text formatting and longer posts that allow subscribers to post up to 25,000 characters.

Blue check-marked account users can also retract a post before it is posted and is available to view for the public. Neither the X Corp nor its CEO Elon Musk has publicly clarified why this feature was introduced for the users. However, the company clarified that for those not upgrading or declining automatic renewal, the X Blue features will last through the end of their current billing cycle and the option to hide the checkmark may not be available. 

Previously a free service, the blue check helped classify the accounts belonging to notable and authentic public figures and organisations, but Musk decried it as a 'lords & peasants system' before rolling out a paid subscription. He slammed the system as 'corrupt' as he decided to undo the 'legacy' of blue checks and convert it to a paid service instead.