Twitter launches new public verification program

Twitter has officially relaunched its public verification program for users starting Thursday

“We'll begin rolling out our new verification application process and reviewing public applications for verification on Twitter,” it said in an official release.

The social media major had paused its public verification program for accounts of public interest three years ago “after hearing feedback that it felt arbitrary and confusing to many people.”

It has been working on bringing clarity related to the eligibility criteria for verification and gathering public feedback for its policies over the past several months.

“We also started enforcing that policy by automatically removing the verified badge from accounts that no longer meet the updated criteria for verification, such as those that are inactive or incomplete,” Twitter said in a blog post.

“Today’s application rollout marks the next milestone in our plans to give more transparency, credibility and clarity to verification on Twitter,” it said.

Over the next few weeks, users on the platform will start to see the new verification application directly in the Account Settings tab.

"If you don’t see this update immediately today, don’t worry! We're gradually rolling it out to everyone to ensure that we can review applications in a timely manner," it said.

As it opens up applications for verification, it is also introducing new guidelines for verified accounts on Twitter.

The microblogging platform has defined six categories of accounts that are eligible to apply for verification. These are Government, Companies- brands and organizations, News organizations and journalists, Entertainment, Sports and gaming, and Activists- organizers, and other influential individuals.

Apart from the category-specific eligibility criteria, a user account must be "complete" in order to apply for verification. This means that they should have a profile name, a profile image and either a confirmed email address or phone number.

"Your account must also be active within the last six months and have a record of adherence to the Twitter Rules,” it further said.

Once a user submits their application, they will receive an e-mailed response from Twitter within a few days or up to a few weeks depending on how many open applications are in queue.

If their application is approved, users will see the blue badge automatically on their profile. In case they aren't approved, users can reapply 30 days after receiving Twitter's decision on their application.

The social media major is also planning to introduce more categories for eligibility later this year, such as those for scientists, academics, and religious leaders.

It will also be launching new account types as announced previously.

" Since our last update, we’ve been doing ongoing research on automated accounts and plan to introduce a way to denote this account type in the next few months, with memorialized accounts to follow," it said.

"We’re also exploring improvements to the Twitter profile to allow people to better express themselves, such as through an About page. We’ll share more on all of this soon," it further said.

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