Twitter announces the account verification process for everyone
There is some good news for Twitter users. Now, you need not be a high-profile individual for your Twitter account to be considered for verification. Twitter on Tuesday announced that it is opening up verified accounts to everybody. You can now request a verified account from Twitter.
For those unfamiliar, the Twitter accounts that have a blue checkmark called a “verified badge” means that those are verified by the microblogging network. Usually, the coveted blue checkmark was reserved for prominent individuals such as celebrities, politicians, and members of the media.
“We want to make it even easier for people to find creators and influencers on Twitter so it makes sense for us to let people apply for verification,” said Tina Bhatnagar, Twitter’s vice president of User Services said in a press statement. “We hope opening up this application process results in more people finding great, high-quality accounts to follow, and for these creators and influencers to connect with a broader audience.”
If you believe your Twitter account is of public interest and should be verified, you can start by filling out a form on Twitter. In order to complete the form, users must have specific information already listed: A verified phone number, a confirmed email address, bio, profile photo, header photo, birthday (for accounts that are not company, brand, or organization accounts), website and Tweets set as public in Tweet privacy settings.
Once you have cleared step one, Twitter will ask you a few questions about why your account should be verified. It wants to understand your impact in a field or your mission. You can also provide URLs to support your request, including sites that suggest your newsworthiness or relevancy in a field. It can even ask for a scanned copy of a government issued identification card, such as a passport or driver’s license, to confirm your identity.
Twitter will respond to requests via email and if it is denied, the firm will allow users to submit another form for the same account 30 days after following the rejection notice.
Starting in 2009, Twitter was the first platform to introduce account verification. Currently, Twitter has about 187,000 verified accounts, which is nothing compared to its some 320 million monthly active users. This change could be an opportunity for the company to offer a choice to majority of its users who may only want to communicate with accounts that share their verification status.
