Putting an end to all the ‘How is Twitter free’ memes, Twitter has finally introduced a monthly subscription that offers additional features for a fee. Called Twitter Blue, this is Twitter’s first-ever subscription offering and primarily caters to power users who want extra features on the platform. But is it worth the hype? That’s exactly what we will be exploring in this article on the Twitter Blue subscription service. We will talk about new features offered as part of Twitter Blue, how to buy the subscription, and its free alternatives.

The rumors of Twitter working on a paid subscription service initially surfaced in July last year. Soon after, the company confirmed its plans to test out subscription models. Ahead of the official announcement, we also saw multiple leaks revealing potential Twitter Blue features. Now that Twitter has officially unveiled its subscription service, here’s all you need to know about Twitter Blue in 2021.

  • What is Twitter Blue?
  • Twitter Blue: Price and Availability
  • Twitter Blue: Features
  • Undo Tweet
  • Bookmark Folders
  • Reader Mode
  • Color Theme and App Icon
  • How to Sign Up for Twitter Blue Subscription
  • Twitter Blue: Free Alternatives to Paid Features
  • Undo Tweet – Better Tweetdeck
  • Bookmark Folders – Pocket and Bookmark Managers
  • Reader Mode – Thread Reader
  • Color Theme and App Icons – Twitter Web and Icon Packs
  • How Twitter Could Make Twitter Blue Better
  • Edit Button
  • Ad-free Access to Twitter
  • Animated Profile Pictures
  • Search DM by Keyword
  • Early Access to New Twitter Features
  • Should You Get Twitter Blue?

What is Twitter Blue?

Twitter Blue is a monthly subscription offering from Twitter. With Twitter Blue, the platform isn’t entirely going behind a paywall. Instead, Twitter Blue brings extra features for those who expect more flexibility on the platform. It currently offers three additional features (discussed below) for a small fee. The initial rollout is limited to select countries, and we could expect global availability in the future.

Twitter Blue subscription is currently available in Canada and Australia for iOS users. The subscription model is on a monthly basis and is available as an in-app purchase. Android users in Canada and Australia will have to wait to try out Twitter Blue at the moment. The company says it will expand Twitter Blue to more regions later this year.

That seems like a reasonable price for a monthly subscription, but are the features you get with Twitter Blue worth the money? Let’s find out.

At launch, the Twitter Blue subscription service offers four key features – Undo Tweet, Bookmark Folders, Reader mode, and customizable app icons and color themes.  Let’s take a closer look at these Twitter Blue features:

Undo Tweet

If you often find yourself spotting typos just after sending out a tweet, the undo tweet feature is meant for you. It will enable you to see a preview of the sent tweet before it reaches your followers. This is the perfect solution for users who want to delete a tweet before someone sees it.

Bookmark Folders

Reader Mode

Reader mode is for those who love reading tweetstorms or threads, as Twitter now calls it. The feature makes it easier to read Twitter threads and helps improve the tweet reading experience. Instead of going through multiple tweets, you get all the tweets part of the thread in one place. Twitter users who prefer reading threads like a blog post will appreciate the existence of Reader mode in the Twitter Blue subscription.

Color Themes and App Icon

Under this paid subscription, you can also customize the color theme and app icon of the Twitter mobile app on iOS. The available color options include Blue, Yellow, Red, Purple, Orange, and Green. As app reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong pointed out, app icons and color themes don’t use the same color code, at least at this moment.

The red in color themes doesn’t match the red in app icons 🥴

If all the features mentioned above sound appealing to you and you live in Canada and Australia, you can get the Twitter Blue paid subscription right now. Just follow the steps below:

Now that we have seen all the Twitter Blue features, let’s explore free alternatives to current Twitter Blue features. Whether Twitter Blue isn’t available in your country just yet or you don’t want to pay for these Twitter Blue features, here are your options:

Undo Tweet – Better Tweetdeck

You might have heard of Tweetdeck, but there exists a browser extension called Better Tweetdeck that enhances the capabilities of Tweetdeck. One noteworthy feature of the extension is re-draft, which essentially works like the “Undo tweet” feature. Here’s how it works:

When you click this button, you will get the option to edit the original tweet. After you have made the changes, click on the “Tweet” button. Better Tweetdeck will now automatically delete the original tweet and post the new tweet. For example, I redrafted my original ‘Test tweet’ and replaced it with ‘Test tweet 2’ here.

Bookmark Folders – Pocket and Bookmark Managers

The Bookmark folders feature is arguably the most attractive Twitter Blue addition for most users. And that’s for a good reason. If you often use Twitter’s built-in bookmarks tool, it is a neat bonus to stay organized. However, if you don’t mind using a third-party service, you could use one of the best bookmark managers.

Reader Mode – Thread Reader

Twitter Blue’s Reader mode has powerful alternatives since Twitter users have long been using third-party services to save Twitter threads. One such tool is the Thread Reader bot. Log in to Thread Reader and reply to a Twitter thread in the following format to compile it into a single post and read it comfortably.

If you are looking for alternatives to Thread Reader, check out our article on the best ways to save Twitter threads. You will find other great tools, including Readwise, Threader, and Unroll Thread, along with instructions to use them in that article.

Color Theme and App Icons – Twitter Web and Icon Packs

If you don’t want to pay for the new color themes and icons, I mean, why would you. It would be wiser to consider using the web version of Twitter on mobile. That’s because Twitter’s web client has had these themes for a while now, and they are absolutely free.

And for new icons, you should first learn how to use custom app icons on iPhone. Once that’s done, go through our article on creative iOS 14 home screen design ideas to find a good icon pack. Android users should check out our lists of the best free icon packs and cool new icon packs.

Having discussed the current Twitter Blue features and its free alternatives, here are a few feature suggestions we think could make the Twitter Blue subscription more attractive for potential subscribers:

Edit Button

It doesn’t take a genius to guess that an edit button is the top user-requested feature on Twitter. In fact, I see at least a tweet about users asking for an edit button once a week. The worst part is that Twitter knows this and is choosing not to add it. Last year, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey revealed that Twitter is unlikely to add an edit button as it could lead to misunderstandings between the original poster and someone who retweeted it.

Ad-free Access to Twitter

In a move that surprised many, Twitter skipped making ad-free access to the platform part of Twitter Blue. While I understand that advertising revenue could outperform subscription revenue, Twitter could add a second expensive tier to offer ad-free Twitter access to those who are willing to pay for it. No app tracking, no ads. That’s the experience many desire if they decide to pay for a service.

  • Animated Profile Pictures

Animated Profile Pictures

Search DM by Keyword

Although Twitter lets you search for people and groups in the direct messages section, you can’t search DMs by keywords. This feature could be appealing to users who use keywords to search messages on other messaging platforms.

Early Access to New Twitter Features

Twitter was moving at a slow pace for a long time, but it has changed a lot over the past year. The company recently introduced Instagram Story-like Fleets, Clubhouse alternative Twitter Spaces, Tip Jar, and several other new features. It also announced Super Follows, Communities, and other upcoming features earlier in 2021.

Twitter could figure out a way to let Twitter Blue subscribers test exciting new Twitter features before they are available to the public.