Twitter Blue problems? How to sign up for verification despite error messages
Signing up for the new Twitter Blue has caused problems for some folks
➡️The Shortcut Skinny: Playing hard-to-get
🔁 You’re loading an old version – clear your cache or relaunch the app
🕰️ You have to wait 7 days after changing your name, “@” handle, or profile pic
📆 New accounts must wait 90 days
😴 If inactive for 30 days, you have to wait 7 days after becoming active
🌍 You may be outside of the countries where Twitter Blue is available
🚧 Twitter is working on a way to allow name changes, etc.
If you’re asking how to sign up for Twitter Blue, you’re not alone – others have had trouble giving Elon Musk their money during the second, quieter rollout of the pay-for-verification scheme. If it seems like Twitter Blue is playing hard-to-get, the explanation why is more mundane than you might think (it’s probably not because you’ve gotten one of those Twitter Files Part 2 shadow bans). Here’s how to get in on the Twitter Blue relaunch.
1. Not seeing the Twitter Blue sign up page
The first one is simple: if don’t see the option to sign up, try to start fresh. Close your phone’s Twitter app or quit your web browser, then re-open and try again. Clearing your browser cache would likely have the same effect. You should see the option, now!
2. Twitter Blue error message
That’s not all that can get in the way, though. Say you get that far and, like me, when you attempt to sign up, you see this error message:
You may find your mind racing with conspiratorial possibilities. Did I criticize Elon Musk? Have I been flagged as infected with the woke mind virus? Is this because I shared that video of him getting booed at Dave Chappelle’s recent San Francisco comedy show?
You probably just changed your name
After you’ve taken a breath, know this: You probably just got caught in a mundane filter. Twitter Head of Product Esther Crawford responded to someone who received the very same message yesterday, explaining they were probably caught up in one of Twitter’s “many impersonator defenses.”
That’s likely true for me, as I’d recently changed my display name. Her words are echoed in the Twitter Blue FAQ, under the heading “Where is Twitter Blue available for purchase?” It seems you’ll have to wait seven days from your name change to sign up.
3. New or inactive accounts must wait
There are other reasons that might have you asking how to sign up for Twitter Blue. If you’ve just created a new account, for instance, you’ll have to wait. The subscription program is, for now, only available to accounts older than 90 days, one of the ways Twitter is trying to keep people from quickly creating impersonator accounts. You’ll also be flagged if your account hasn’t been active at any point in the last 30 days, which triggers the same 7-day waiting period as a name change.
4. Outside of Twitter Blue’s launch region
Finally, Twitter Blue is only available in these primarily English-speaking countries: The United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Outside of those places, you can’t sign up yet.
5. It’s not your fault. Twitter is working on it
Twitter said on Saturday that Twitter Blue subscribers would be able to change their display name or user name, but they’ll temporarily lose their blue checkmark until the company can review their account again. However, the Twitter Blue FAQ says subscribers will be unable to change those things, and that the company is working on a new process to allow it.
That isn’t quite accurate – one of our team members, who is verified by the new Twitter Blue, tried it this morning, and, after clicking “Save” on a dialog box that included a message notifying them that their blue checkmark would be “hidden for a period of time after you edit your display name or profile photo,” they did indeed lose their check mark, pending verification.
Previously, verified Twitter users could freely change those things – this was on display during the dust up during the first rollout of the new Twitter Blue, when Sarah Silverman, Kathy Griffin and other celebrities impersonated Elon Musk, drawing attention to the new subscription’s deficiencies, as well as Musk’s ire.