Twitter reportedly engaged on new govt ID-based verification

Verification is a tough topic for Twitter, extra so since Elon Musk purchased the social media firm and promptly modified the verification tick course of, quite a few occasions. Now that the chaos of the brand new, revamped Twitter Blue has cooled down considerably, the micro-blogging website appears to be testing a brand new means of verification on its platform.

This has not been confirmed by the corporate – and don’t attempt to contact the press crew until you wish to see a poop emoji – however in response to Watchful.ai, the micro-blogging website is testing a verification course of that’s primarily based on authorities IDs. In response to a report by TechCrunch, the brand new verification course of includes the submission of an image of the consumer’s authorities ID (each back and front). This, coupled with a selfie, will confirm their Twitter accounts.

Just like the Edit Tweet and different options, this new verification course of is locked behind a paywall, and obtainable solely to subscribers of Twitter Blue. In case you missed it, Twitter’s subscription service is accessible for $8/month on the net and $11/month for the Twitter app on iOS and Android.

It’s not clear whether or not this new ID-based verification is being examined externally, however Watchful.ai did discover out that it’s in testing within the US on Twitter for Android. The brand new verification course of, in response to the screenshots offered to TechCrunch, will take about three minutes to finish. Their info and pictures will likely be shared with a 3rd social gathering – it isn’t talked about which one – to substantiate their id.

If Twitter doesn’t scrap the plan and rolls out this function, then it will likely be a worthy addition to the social media platform. Not solely will it add credibility to the accounts on the platform, however it is going to additionally crack down exhausting on impersonations and faux accounts – one thing that had mushroomed throughout the early days of the launch of the “new” Twitter Blue.

It would even be a far-more reliable technique of verification, particularly at a time when customers can merely pay a number of {dollars} monthly (or 12 months) to get or preserve the coloured “verified” checkmark. The checkmarks, in a pure stroke of Musk genius, are available quite a lot of colours – blue, gray, and gold – and if that isn’t sufficient, Twitter has added an “Official” badge as effectively.