Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge
Twitter Blue may relaunch at two different price points depending on where you subscribe from, according to a new report from The Information. The premium subscription could cost $11 when purchased via Twitter’s iOS app, or a reduced $7 per month if users subscribe via Twitter’s website. The price disparity is likely an attempt to circumvent the 30 percent commission Apple charges on many in-app purchases.
The premium subscription originally launched at $7.99 a month in early November, when it was only available via iOS (with no option to subscribe via other platforms like Android or the web). But its rollout was quickly paused after numerous users took advantage of one of its trademark features — access to Twitter’s coveted blue verified checkmark — to impersonate a wide variety of companies and celebrities.
News of the two-tiered pricing structure comes after new Twitter CEO Elon Musk publicly called out Apple’s “hidden 30 percent tax,” among claims that the company had also mostly stopped advertising on Twitter and was threatening Twitter’s presence in the app store or otherwise making moderation demands. But Musk walked back some of his comments after meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, saying that it was a “misunderstanding.”
Twitter will still have to abide by Apple’s anti-steering rules, which restrict how developers can link users out to their own website to subscribe for services. Apple has relaxed some of its anti-steering restrictions in recent years, but its rules have continued to create headaches for developers not keen on paying the iPhone maker’s commission.
The Information’s report does not mention what Twitter may charge for Twitter Blue on Android, where Google also takes up to a 30 percent commission on in-app purchases.