Twitter Blue Returns With a Bad Surprise For iPhone Users

The Twitter social network is relaunching its subscription service after suspending new signups for a month.

The wait was longer than expected. 

Elon Musk and Twitter plan to relaunch Blue, the microblogging website's subscription service, on Dec. 12, more than a month after suspending new signups. 

The boss of the social network had to suspend signups on Nov. 11 just two days after the launch of the new version of Blue, which integrates a checkmark for authenticating the identity of the people behind an account. 

Why? Soon after Blue rolled out on Nov. 9, many fake accounts posing as companies and celebrities appeared on the platform. These accounts had been authenticated with the blue check mark, but they were impersonators.

Tesla's  (TSLA) - Get Free Report fake account, for example, posted jokes about the vehicle maker's safety record. A fake Eli Lilly  (LLY) - Get Free Report account posted that insulin was now free. The pharmaceutical giant had to apologize. 

Another fake account from defense group Lockheed Martin  (LMT) - Get Free Report sent a message saying: "We will begin halting all weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States, until further investigation into their record of human rights abuses. #WeAreLM>"

iOS Pays $11 a Month for Twitter Blue

Initially to combat impersonators, Musk left the official badge in the bios of high-profile accounts like institutions, celebrities and brands. The billionaire then announced that he had killed this feature. 

But faced with a flood of impersonators and the mass withdrawal of brands, which have suspended the promotion of their products and services on the platform, Musk brought back the grey tag.  

That was not enough to discourage the impersonators. The serial entrepreneur finally decided to suspend new signups for Twitter Blue. 

Musk was planning to relaunch Blue on Nov. 29, but ultimately Twitter determined to relaunch a new bug-fixed version of Blue on Dec. 12 -- but with a tweak for iPhone users. 

Users will again be able to subscribe to Blue for $7.99 a month -- but the price will be $11 for iPhone owners unless they subscribe on the web and not through the App Store.

"We’re relaunching @TwitterBlue on Monday – subscribe on web for $8/month or on iOS for $11/month to get access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark