Twitter extends “Twitter Blue” to Android users; begins testing Twitter Verification for Business owners

Twitter is now offering a yearly discount on its Blue subscription service per the company’s support page. Blue annual subscriptions are now available for $84 ($7/month), a $1 savings over the monthly rate of $8. If you live in one of the countries where Twitter Blue is offered, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, or Japan, you can sign up for the same annual plan.

Prior to this update, Twitter users only had the option of subscribing to Blue for $8 per month via the web, or $11 per month via iOS (including Apple’s 30% fee). In the Twitter app for Android, the Twitter Blue theme is not available. However, those who use Android or iOS can sign up for the service online and save $3.

That means the iOS app version of Blue costs $132 per year, while the Android app version only costs $11 per month. When a user pays $86 per year for the premium plan; by switching to the new annual subscription instead of subscribing through iOS, they can save 36% per year.

Perhaps Elon Musk don’t want to give Google a cut of their in-app purchase revenue (as he did with Apple). This means higher prices for end users.

In the past, Apple has made exceptions in its App Store Guidelines for this kind of thing, allowing “reader” apps and “multiplatform services” to generally let you log into a subscription you’ve already purchased elsewhere without paying Apple’s fees, but it’s unclear if Apple will care if Twitter claws back its cut in this way.

As of today, Twitter’s new annual purchase option was listed on a Twitter support page, though we did not notice any other major changes to the plan. Whether you choose monthly or annual billing, your checkmark will show up after an unknown amount of time, and you’ll need to verify your phone number to make it work.

One of his goals since taking control of Twitter has been to expand the company’s subscription offerings. To that end, he recently unveiled changes to the Twitter Blue plan that will provide subscribers with a number of new features, including a “verified” badge, fewer ads, and priority in the company’s algorithm.

What’s next is something called “Twitter Verification for Organization,” according to the company. In a tweet thread, Twitter Business explains that this is a new service for business entities on Twitter that adds a “gold” checkmark to official business accounts. If you’re a business and actively use Twitter, you can learn more about Twitter verification for organizations here. You can also sign up for early access to Verification for Organizations. If eligible, you’ll be added to our waitlist.