X Premium (Formerly Twitter Blue) - Everything You Need To Know

[DISCALIMER: this article was written before Twitter Blue was changed to X Premium, so it will refer to the service as Twitter Blue.]

In late 2022, billionaire Elon Musk sent Twitter and its users through a whirlpool of drama. A lot of that drama centered around Twitter Blue. This prompted the whole service to go down for several weeks. It eventually made a return with some notable changes. If you want to know how the service has changed, what hasn’t, and whether it’s worth it, here’s a quick rundown.

What is Twitter Blue?

Twitter Blue is a subscription service that grants you some additional features. These features include different ways to view and interact with your posts along with early access to new and experimental features coming to the platform. It’s basically like Twitter on steroids.

As time goes on, you’ll see more features make their way to the subscription service, so you’ll be able to try them out before other users. That’s one of the main benefits of this service.

How much does this service cost?

The price is one of the major changes. Since it started, the price has jumped 168% from $2.99/month to $8/month. This was a move by Musk to make the platform more profitable. If you want a slight discount, you can get the yearly plan. That costs $84/year. That boils down to $7/month (a 12.5% discount).

Will I still see ads on Twitter with the Blue subscription?

[Updated April 2023] Yes. However, as a Twitter Blue user, you will see reduced ads. For the time being, it’s not quite as nice as it sounds. The company touts it as “a 50% reduction in ads”, but that only applies to the For You timeline and the Following timeline.

You will see the full number of ads everywhere else on the platform. This includes, but is not limited to, promoted content elsewhere on Twitter, including but not limited to “ads on profiles, ads in Tweet replies, promoted events in Explore, promoted trends, and promoted accounts to follow.”

Will I still have the 280-character limit with the subscription?

Yes. As of early 2023, rumors have it that Twitter is planning on increasing the character limit to increase the character limit to 4000 characters. At this point, we don’t know if this will be reserved for Twitter Blue users, so we’ll be on the lookout for developments on that front.

What features do you get with Twitter Blue?

There’s a handful of fun features that you can enjoy with Twitter Blue. And, as stated, you’ll see more features arise over time.

Editing tweets

If you’re a Twitter Blue user, you’re able to test out the ability to edit tweets before other users. [Updated June 2023: You now have up to an hour to edit your tweets] After you post a tweet, you’ll have 30 minutes to go in and make any changes you think are necessary.

After you edit a tweet, it will show the users that it was edited. Not only that but it will also give users a link to the original tweet so that they can see what you originally said.

Long threads in reader mode

A subscription will let you read through long threads without any interruptions. Instead of having to select each entry in the thread and avoid the comments, you’ll be able to read the thread just like a regular page of text.

It helps make it easier when you’re reading a long thread of tweets. You can toggle the feature on and off if you want.

Undoing tweets

A lot of the time, we instantly regret sending a tweet. This could either be because we stated something we didn’t mean, we wanted to change what we typed up, or we made a typo in the tweet. If you’re a Twitter Blue user, you’ll be able to undo a tweet that was just sent.

When you send a tweet, you’ll have 60 seconds to review your tweet and undo it if need be. Once that 60-second window is up, you won’t be able to make any changes to the tweet. You’ll need to delete it and repost.

Added customizations

With Twitter Blue, you’ll also be able to change how your UI looks. There are several ways that you can go about doing this. For starters, you’re able to better organize your bookmark. The subscription gives you the ability to put your bookmarks into folders.

If you’re using the Twitter app for Android or iOS, you’ll be able to put your favorite pages right on your tab bar. This lets you customize it and tailor it to your tastes.

This next one is also for people using the app. If you’re a subscriber, you’ll have access to different app icons that show up on your phone’s home screen. This is for if you want to change things up visually on your phone.

Next, there’s a feature exclusively for iPhone users. There is a feature that will let you customize the theme of the app. We’re used to the blue theme present throughout Twitter. However, you will be able to pick your own accent color.

Ability to hide your likes

When someone sees your account, they can see a feed of the tweets that you’ve liked. However, if you’re a Twitter Blue user, you can hide that feed from others. So, they won’t be able to see what tweets you’ve liked.

Ability to hide your verification badge

Being a Twitter Blue user, you get the almighty verification badge thrown in. However, if, for any reason, you don’t want others to see that you’re verified, you can hide your badge.

Longer Tweets

If you’re a subscriber to Twitter Blue, you can make tweets that are up to 25,000 characters long. You can still add media to your tweets. Also, non-Twitter Blue users can still view them fully. With this extended length, users are able to type up full articles on the platform before hitting the ceiling.

Additional text formatting

If you’re a Twitter Blue user, you’re able to use bold and italic formats when typing out your tweets.

Longer video uploads

The first feature is the ability to upload longer videos. Twitter has a limit to how long your videos can be. Without a subscription, you can upload videos up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds. That’s much longer than the 45 seconds that we had before, but it’s still pretty short.

With the Twitter Blue subscription, you’ll be able to test uploading videos up to 10 minutes long. That’s more than quadruple the length.

1080p video uploads

Right now, Twitter doesn’t allow people to upload videos in 1080p quality. It’s been a gripe among users for a while, but Twitter Blue users will be able to test that out as well.

NFT profile pictures

If you’re into the whole NFT community, and you want to brandish your new purchase on your profile, you can. You’ll be able to post your NFT as your profile picture, and it will be housed in a hexagonal frame.

Tweet prioritization

If you’re a Twitter Blue user, your tweets will reach higher in the algorithm. This will make it easier for people to see them.

If you’re looking into getting Twitter Blue, you can sign up for it today.

X Premium (Formerly Twitter Blue) – Everything You Need To Know – Updated September 2023