Twitter will now let users apply to be verified on its platform. The giant social network had halted this process in 2017 after uproar over who Twitter verified.
Out of Twitter’s 199 million daily active users, 360,000 of them are verified with the coveted blue badge next to their profile.
It’s worth noting that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was the first account on Twitter to be verified on Twitter in 2009.
Twitter will start accepting submissions from users who apply to be verified.
The blue badge lets users on Twitter know that these profiles are of high public interest and are authentic.
Who’s Eligible To Be Verified
To be verified, Twitter says that your account should be “notable, authentic and active.”
This will include journalists and news organizations, activists, accounts of government officials, athletes, celebrities, people representing prominent brands and others.
The list will expand to also include people representing prominent brands, scientists and academics.
Your account must have a profile image and name, confirmed phone number and email address, active acocunt(that you have logged in the past six months).
The full list of guideline can be found here.
How To Apply
If you’re eligible, then open your Twitter app, head to Settings and then scroll to the verification request option.
During this step, Twitter will ask you to fill in an application which will have questions to verify your identity.
This verification request feature will be rolling out in the coming weeks.
Twitter will then email when you submit your application. you’ll have to be patient as Twitter hired humans to do the verification so it could take days or weeks before you get this email.
If everything checks out, Twitter will approve you and add the blue badge on your account.
There’d a 30 day window after applying if you don’t meet the requirements.
Its worth noting that accounts that have already been verified(that have the blue badge) don’t need to apply.
Also, Twitter can remove the badge if you frequently violate its polices or if you change your username(your @)
“With great verification comes great responsibility to serve the public conversation…play nice, lead by example and tweet others the way you want to be tweeted,” said Twitter’s Trust and Safety Team Product Manager, Sarah Husain.
New Features
Twitte ris revamping its profile feature by adding labels for automated accounts and memorialized accounts for deceased users.
Twitter is working to add a section where users can add their preferred pronouns.
