X giveth, and now X taketh away. The platform is eliminating the ability for Premium users to hide their blue checkmarks, according to a notification received by multiple users on Thursday. X made displaying the blue check optional last summer, and it’s unclear exactly why the platform plans to remove the feature — or when.
Once a status symbol, the blue check lost some of its luster after X shifted to a paid verification system under Elon Musk’s ownership. A blue check then just became an indicator that the account holder paid for a Premium subscription. The feature was also abused by scammers and online impersonators, and some blue checks became the target of online harassment or mass blocking. X eventually rolled out the blue check to accounts with more than a million followers, covering most living celebrities (and some dead) as well as public figures.
Just last week, the platform doled out free blue checks to accounts with high numbers of verified followers — whether the owners wanted them or not. The move (despite being announced earlier by owner Elon Musk) took some of these users by surprise. A number of newly-minted Premium and Premium Plus users later opted to hide their blue checks in order to avoid the recent stigma around it. Now, it appears these users will have no choice in the matter.
