I have to Pay to use social media? I guess most of you will be surprised to hear that, just know that you are not alone. That might seem crazy, but that’s the idea of “Twitter Blue.” For $3 per month, you get additional features that aren’t available to free users. Is it really worth it? Let’s find out.
Twitter is a unique social network. It’s certainly not as popular as Facebook, but the people who do use Twitter tend to be highly engaged. Twitter Blue is a way for these “power users” to get even more features.
What Do You Get With Twitter Blue?
Twitter Blue includes a handful of features that are designed to “add enhanced and complementary features” to the existing Twitter experience. Let’s go over them one by one.Bookmarks Folder
Twitter has a feature called “Bookmarks” that lets you save tweets. For free users, all your saved tweets are in one place and are not searchable. Twitter Blue adds folders to Bookmarks.It works exactly how you would expect. You can easily create folders on the Bookmarks page, and when you save a tweet, you can choose which folder it goes in. Folders are color-coded and have custom names. There’s also still an “All Bookmarks” folder to see them in one place.
Undo Tweet
If you’ve used Twitter, you know the pain of sending a tweet and then immediately noticing a typo. The only way to fix this for free users is to delete the tweet and sending a new one. Twitter Blue adds an “Undo” button.After you send a tweet, you’ll get a few seconds to tap an “Undo” button before it goes live. The timer is customizable and can be set up to 30-seconds. It’s essentially just a way to preview your tweet before it’s sent off to your followers.
Unfortunately, this is only a middle ground for those who want to edit sent tweets. Once a tweet has been shared with your followers, you will have to delete the message and type it out without errors. The Undo button won’t save a typo after the fact.
Reader Mode
It’s very common for Twitter users to create long “threads” when they have a lot to say. Reading these threads can be cumbersome, so Twitter Blue has a “Reader Mode” feature.Reader Mode strips away a lot of the Twitter UI to make threads read more like an article. Profile photos, usernames, timestamps, and live/retweet counts are removed from the threaded tweets to make it look more seamless.
Twitter Support & Color Themes
Twitter Blue subscribers get access to dedicated customer support. This means they should be able to get problems resolved much quicker than free users, but it does not apply to abuse or harassment reports.The last benefit is color themes and custom icons. Similar to how Twitter profiles can be customized on the web, Blue subscribers get additional theme options. They can also change the color of the Twitter app icon on their iPhone, iPad, or Android device.
Does Twitter Blue Let You Edit Tweets?
This is one of the biggest questions when it comes to Twitter Blue. People have been asking Twitter for the ability to edit tweets for years. As we alluded to above, Twitter Blue kinda has this in the form of the Undo button.The Undo experience is really just holding your tweet back for a short time so you can catch a mistake before it’s sent. It’s definitely not what people have been asking for, but it should mostly work. You just have to make sure to catch your mistakes quickly.
How to Sign Up for Twitter Blue
You can sign up for Twitter Blue in the Twitter app for iPhone, iPad, and Android. Tap the three-line hamburger menu icon in the top-left corner and look for “Twitter Blue” in the slide-out menu.Twitter Blue Pricing & Availability
Twitter Blue costs $3 USD per month. That roughly equates to $3.49 in Canada and $4.49 in Australia. There is only one subscription option and no additional tiers. Twitter Blue launched in Canada and Australia on June 3, 2021. At the time of writing, Twitter has not shared a release timeline for the U.S.The free version of Twitter that people have been using for over a decade isn’t going anywhere. Twitter also hasn’t taken away any of the free features and suddenly put them behind a paywall. All of the features included with Twitter Blue are new.