Users on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, can now hide the once sought-after blue checkmarks signaling their verified status.
In an update to its help center, X says subscribers can now “choose to hide your checkmark on your account.” Doing so will hide the verified checkmark on a user’s profile and posts, but the icon may still appear in some places, according to the help center.
“Some features may not be available while your checkmark is hidden,” the help center also states, though it does not expand on which features may be inaccessible.
“We will continue to evolve this feature to make it better for you,” it states.
The development comes months after X rolled out its paid subscription program, Twitter Blue, which has now been rebranded to X Blue.
Users of the subscription service, which starts at $8 a month, receive a blue checkmark after a review to ensure their account meets X’s eligibility criteria, according to X’s help center.
Government accounts have been given gray checkmarks to show that they have been verified, while businesses and non-profits can pay for a subscription service that will grant them gold checkmarks, representing their verified status.
Verification was previously provided by the platform at zero cost to accounts it considered noteworthy, including government accounts, news organizations, journalists and celebrities.
Now, those who may want to hide the fact that they are paying for a subscription to X will be able to do so.
Last month, the social media platform temporarily limited the number of tweets users can read in a day to 1,000. New unverified accounts were limited to 500, while accounts with verified status were limited to 10,000 posts per day.
X owner Elon Musk said the limits were introduced to address “extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation.”
Musk has overseen sweeping changes to the social media platform since buying it for $44 billion and taking control in October.
Among those changes has been his bid to rebrand Twitter to X, which has so far been met with a number of hurdles.
A flashing “X” sign installed at the top of the building housing X’s headquarters was recently removed just days after it went up and caused complaints about the bright display.
San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection issued a notice of violation Friday after the sign, which did not have a permit, was erected on the roof, department spokesman Patrick Hannan said. He said there had been at least 24 complaints made about the sign over the span of a weekend.
In May, Musk said he was stepping down as CEO of then-Twitter and announced that Linda Yaccarino, former head of ad sales for NBCUniversal, would be the new CEO, while Musk stayed on as chief technology officer.
Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.
Chantal Da Silva
Chantal Da Silva is a breaking news editor for NBC News Digital based in London.
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