X puts social media application X Pro, formerly known as TweetDeck, behind paywall

Social media application TweetDeck, which has now been changed to X Pro, on Wednesday (August 16) transformed into a paid service that would now be available to users via yearly or a monthly subscription charge.

On Tuesday (August 15), some users, who attempted to access X Pro, were being diverted to a paid-subscription sign-up page that asked them to pay an annual fee of $84.

In the month of July, X announced that TweetDeck, which is a popular application that allows users to access and monitor multiple accounts at a single time, would be available to only "verified" account holders from the month of August.

The popular social media firm, which was taken over by billionaire Elon Musk in the year 2022, has been announcing new ways to make profits. After he bought Twitter, now known as X, Musk went on a massive layoff spree to cut down expenses and also increased its paid subscription fee.

Last week, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Linda Yaccarino said that the organisation was "close" to breaking even and would strengthen staffing that had been slashed by Musk.

The verified users of platform X are mostly the ones that have paid to receive the blue checkmark, though Musk has gifted the verification symbol to some.

TweetDeck, which was launched over a decade ago, shows messages in columns and its search and posting functions operate differently from the website or the application.

Twitter bought London-based TweetDeck in the year 2011, at a price tag of$40 million at the time.

X may soon add ID verification to tackle bots

Meanwhile, social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter, may soon add ID verification features for preventing impersonation. According to a report by Engadget on Thursday (August 17), app researcher Nima Owji shared a screenshot on X which showed that the platform is working on an additional verification feature that requires users to upload a copy of their government-issued ID and snap a selfie.

"X keeps working on the ID verification. You should upload a photo of your ID and take a live selfie," Owji said late Thursday. He had first spotted an “ID-verified” badge on Musk’s profile earlier in August. “Verify your account by providing government-issued ID,” the X description reads. “This usually takes about 5 minutes,” it adds.

X to address shadowbanning soon: Musk

X owner Elon Musk says that the social media giant will address shadowbanning soon. Shadowbanning would not outrightly ban users, but make changes that ensure their content is no longer circulated and kept out of public view.

After taking over Twitter last year, Musk attempted to prove that shadowbanning was a common practice on the social media network. He insisted that users should have the right to know if they’ve been shadowbanned.

(With inputs from agencies)

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