Twitter Blue is set to relaunch Monday at $3 more for iPhone app users after Elon Musk complained about Apple's App Store fee
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- The relaunch of Twitter Blue was suspended in November after a wave of impersonations.
- It was suspended again as Elon Musk tried to avoid the Apple App Store's 30% fee.
- Twitter said the subscription would be relaunching for $3 more on iOS.
Twitter said its subscription service, Twitter Blue, will be relaunching Monday for $8 per month — but users who subcribe through the app on their iPhone instead of via the Twitter website will have to pay $3 more.
"We're relaunching @TwitterBlue on Monday – subscribe on web for $8/month or on iOS for $11/month to get access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark," the company said in a tweet on Saturday.
The latest version of Twitter Blue, which allowed users to pay for a blue-check verification, was initially launched in November shortly after Elon Musk's takeover. It was quickly suspended after a wave of impersonations.
Musk again suspended the launch in late November as he tried to get around the 30% charge that Apple's App Store takes from most of its sales. Musk accused Apple of monopolistic practices, and has previously said the fee was "literally 10 times higher than it should be."
—Twitter (@Twitter) December 10, 2022
Musk also had claimed Apple "threatened" to remove Twitter from the app store, but later called it a "misunderstanding" after meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook on November 30.
Twitter said the new Twitter Blue would include the ability to edit tweets and upload 1080p video, as well as a color-coded checkmark system: blue for paid users, gold for businesses, and grey for "government and multilateral accounts." The company did not specify what will happen to existing accounts with blue checkmarks that do not fit into those categories.
Twitter Blue subscribers will also be able to edit their display name or profile photo, but will temporarily lose the blue check until their account can be reviewed, the company said.