After years of public clamor for an application process, Twitter is finally letting people submit requests for a blue-and-white checkmark.
Experts said the launch of the application process could result in a flood of requests for the badge from users around the globe.
Twitter said Friday it would be rolling out the new application process in some regions starting this week. The highly coveted verification badges have become a status symbol on the social media platform. Twitter has arbitrarily been giving out the badges to well-known politicians, celebrities, journalists and other public figures.
Since it was introduced in 2009, people just had to wait to become popular enough to be granted the badge by the company. In 2017, Twitter was reportedly considering an overhaul that would remove the badge feature entirely. After four years of internal discussions, Twitter said it has decided to keep the feature and expand it.
"The blue verified badge gives people on Twitter more context about who they're interacting with," Twitter's identity project manager, B Byrne, said.
Twitter said some people should be able to see the option to apply for a "verified" badge once they update their apps starting Friday. The company said the full rollout of the application process will likely take weeks.
Twitter said the application process will be very strict and only a few people will be eligible. This will include people with notable roles in fields such as politics, sports, entertainment, and activism. The company said newly verified accounts will need to strictly adhere to its policies. Any deviance will result in the removal of the badge and possibly a user's account.
Byrne said the company had considered relaxing the criteria for verified badges but then decided against it as allowing anyone to apply could lead to "inauthentic accounts." Byrne said Twitter will be hiring additional staff to oversee the surge in verified applications. He said the verification process will fully be done by humans and not automated software.
Twitter said as of today only around 360,000 out of its 199 million daily active users globally have verified badges.
