There isn’t a week that goes by without Twitter being tinkered with by Elon Musk, the South African magnate who bought the company a year ago and drastically impacted its value. His latest idea involves having two categories for X Premium subscription, one similar to the existing version and another, at a higher price, that allows users to enjoy the application without any ads or sponsored content.
The last twelve months for the microblogging application have been a complete whirlwind: they’ve radically changed their branding, laid off many employees, and introduced a subscription system for exclusive features. As anticipated in recent weeks, there will soon be a second option for users to browse the platform without ads.
Subscriptions with and without ads
The changes in X Premium will allow users to choose between two different subscription models. The first one will have the same features as the current users, but the second option, which would be a higher-priced tier, will include the removal of ads and promotions from the feed.
This adjustment is in line with European regulations, which are moving towards allowing users the freedom to opt for an ad-free experience in exchange for a paid subscription. In fact, other social media platforms like TikTok, as well as Meta’s platforms like Facebook and Instagram, are also considering this subscription option to comply with the rules imposed by the European Union.
The issues with Twitter? Call it X
The decisions made by Elon Musk on the social media platform, changes that have shown an unusual immaturity for someone of his status and position, have led both users and advertisers to lose trust in the platform. In the case of brands, their advertising spending on the platform has plummeted uncontrollably, and users, in turn, are exploring alternatives to leave Twitter.
There was much talk that Threads or Mastodon could become the destination for this target audience, but the social network that is attracting the most new users is BlueSky, developed by Twitter’s former founder, Jack Dorsey. BlueSky features a similar interface to the original Twitter website and complies with privacy policies. This adherence to privacy regulations prevented Meta from launching Threads in Europe and is causing it to deflate uncontrollably.
