It’s honest to say it’s been a busy few months for Twitter, with a number of modifications coming in a brief period of time. Those modifications have included a revamp of how checkmarks and account labels are used, and in case your head is spinning whereas scrolling by your Twitter timeline, then we’re right here to fastidiously and calmly clarify what every badge and icon means… at the least till the following revamp.

Blue checkmark (new)

Twitter has just lately modified how blue checkmarks work. Now, they point out that an account is paying $8 per thirty days for the additional Twitter Blue options, and that the account is full (with a show title and picture) and at the moment energetic (posting within the final 30 days), with a registered cellphone quantity hooked up to it. That’s it: It doesn’t essentially imply the account is notable or dependable, so assess the tweets coming from it accordingly.

Blue checkmark (outdated)

In the outdated days, a blue checkmark meant an account was energetic, notable, and genuine—it meant a person was who they mentioned they had been, and vital sufficient to wish their id verified, quite than simply being somebody with $8 a month spare. These checkmarks are nonetheless round, although it’s not clear for a way lengthy: Click or faucet on an outdated blue checkmark and also you’ll get a message that it’s a “legacy verified account” that “may or may not” be notable.

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Gold checkmark

The outdated blue checkmarks had been additionally used to confirm enterprise accounts—now these accounts get a gold checkmark as an alternative, in addition to a sq. profile image. The label is described as indicating “an official business account” by Twitter, and once more an $8-per-month subscription to Twitter Blue is required (on this case, the enterprise model). The thought is that you already know once you’re really tweeting on the proper firm.

Gray checkmark

Government establishments and authorities officers, in addition to multilateral organizations, now get a grey checkmark—once more, they had been beforehand coated by the outdated blue checkmark scheme. No cash modifications arms, so far as we are able to inform, so this isn’t a Twitter Blue badge. Some examples that Twitter provides of such a account embody disaster response, regulation enforcement, embassies, elected officers, and official spokespeople.

Official labels

According to Twitter’s own documentation on the time of writing, official labels—the phrase “official” and the define of somewhat grey checkmark—are given to “commercial companies including business partners, major brands, media outlets, and publishers”. However, from what we’re seeing from Twitter itself proper now, these labels appear to have been ditched, with both gold or gray checkmarks indicating these types of accounts as an alternative.

Automated labels

This explicit label is at the moment described as being in testing, so it could not stick round eternally, but it surely’s designed that can assist you establish bots on the platform. Under profile names and handles for bot accounts, you’ll see an “automated by…” message adopted by the title of the Twitter person who has created and is working the bot. Under Twitter’s guidelines, accounts that churn out automated content material need to be linked to a human-run account.

Other labels

There are but extra labels left to inform you about: state-affiliated media labels and authorities labels, which seem as grey textual content beneath account names. You get these on the verified accounts of politicians, for instance, telling you the get together that they signify; you’ll additionally see them on “certain state-affiliated media entities and individuals closely associated with those entities” to offer you a greater thought of the context across the information being reported.

Twitter circles

The Twitter circles function was launched again in September, and up to now hasn’t been messed with an excessive amount of since Elon Musk took over the corporate. You can use it to restrict the attain of chosen tweets, selecting which of your followers are in a position to see them. Users don’t get notifications about whether or not they’re or aren’t in different folks’s circles, however you will notice a inexperienced label underneath tweets which were posted to circles that you simply’re in.

Lock icon

To full your transient information to the best way that Twitter operates now, we’ll point out the lock icon: This hasn’t modified just lately, but it surely’s one other icon that you simply may see in your travels throughout Twitter. A lock icon by a Twitter username signifies that the person has protected their tweets—and so solely followers of the account which were particularly permitted, quite than the broader world at giant, can see and work together with something being tweeted from it.