Twitter Blue's Relaunch Makes Millions—Was It Not Enough?

Twitter is making a big change by removing legacy Twitter checkmarks on April 1st. In the future, users will only be able to obtain the coveted blue badge by subscribing to Twitter Blue, which raises the question of whether this move will encourage more users to opt for the premium tier of the social network.

According to Sensor Tower, a mobile app intelligence firm, Twitter Blue has only picked up $11 million in mobile subscriptions in the three months since its relaunch, which is a relatively underwhelming number, reported by TechCrunch.

Relatively Small Amount

This figure is notable because Twitter is relying on Twitter Blue as a significant source of revenue at a time when advertising, which has traditionally accounted for the majority of its income, is in rapid decline.

Although the $11 million is a relatively small amount, it is important to note that this estimate only covers mobile subscriptions and does not include web-based subscriptions.

Additionally, it is not clear how many of the subscribers are paying for annual or monthly Blue subscriptions. Furthermore, the figures only cover the 20 markets where Blue was launched before this week, and the service has only become available globally recently.

Sensor Tower estimates that Blue has more than 385,000 mobile subscribers worldwide on both iOS and Android, with the US being the largest market, where 246,000 subscribers spent roughly $8 million through their mobile devices.

However, questions remain as to how recurring that $11 million will be over the next few months.

Loss of Advertising Demand

"The loss of advertising demand, fueled both by broader macro uncertainty and Twitter-specific platform issues, has made alternative revenue streams quite appealing for the social media network," said Abe Yousef, senior insights analyst at Sensor Tower, said in a statement with TechCrunch.

Twitter Blue was first introduced in select markets in 2021, primarily targeting power users with its various features such as bookmarking, the ability to "redo" tweets, ad-free news reading, and early access to Twitter Lab experiments.

With Elon Musk at the helm, Blue has been reoriented to play a more critical role in rebuilding Twitter's revenue model.

The Blue subscription service offers several perks, including the ability to edit tweets, upload larger videos, access a "reader" view for lengthier threads, and more.

Additionally, Blue users receive greater visibility in replies and fewer advertisements. The monthly subscription fee for Blue is $11 on iOS and Android and $8 on the web.

According to data from Sensor Tower, Twitter's revenue from in-app purchases has significantly increased since the relaunch of Twitter Blue.

While the company does offer other in-app purchases, Yousef, noted that the majority of this increase can be attributed to Twitter Blue subscriptions.

In contrast, in-app purchases for boosted tweets and other features have had a minimal impact on revenue. Although Twitter's advertising revenue has historically been the main source of income for the company, the success of Twitter Blue could represent a crucial shift in its business model.