Thinking of creating a new X (formerly Twitter) account? You will have to pay U.S. $1 (or P42.51) per year, following CEO Elon Musk’s latest bid to ward off spam bots from the platform.
Starting October 17, new users in the Philippines and New Zealand will be required to sign up for an $1 annual subscription fee to post and interact with other posts on the web version of X. This new test is called “Not A Bot.”
However, existing X users—even unverified ones—will not be affected.
“This new test was developed to bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount. It is not a profit driver,” X Support said in a post. “And so far, subscription options have proven to be the main solution that works at scale.”
Take note that the $1 annual subscription fee isn’t the same as X Premium, which is the paid subscription service that gives X users a blue checkmark and the ability to edit, see less ads, and be prioritized in conversations for $8 a month.
Here's How X, or Twitter, Subscription Fee Works
Like existing users, new X users will have to verify the new account by linking it to an existing phone number.
Then you will be asked to select a subscription plan from the following options: $1 Annual Fee, X Premium, and Verified Organizations (this is for businesses, non-profits, and government institutions).
However, new users can choose to pay this subscription just once upon sign up. There’s no more need to pay $1 in your second or third year of using X as users can opt out of subscribing at any time after the initial $1 charge. Doing so will remove your ability to post and interact with other posts, so you’ll only be able to take on a more passive role—like reading posts, watching videos, and following accounts in this "read only" action. This works for those who are just in it to lurk on the platform. After all, “Not A Bot” is meant to serve as a financial barrier from possible bots.
The subscription will remain active from the time you cancel until the end of your current subscription period.
*This story originally appeared on Spot.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Preview.ph editors.
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