X, formerly known as Twitter, has unveiled its latest subscription offering designed to combat the persistent issue of bot and spam posts on the platform. With the introduction of the Not-A-Bot subscription service, all new users on X will be required to pay an annual fee of $1 to verify their accounts before they can begin posting. This program is initially rolling out in New Zealand (at NZD 1.43) and the Philippines (at PHP 42.51), with plans to expand to additional regions in the near future. It’s important to note that this new program will not impact existing X users.
Starting today, we’re testing a new program (Not A Bot) in New Zealand and the Philippines. New, unverified accounts will be required to sign up for a $1 annual subscription to be able to post & interact with other posts. Within this test, existing users are not affected.
This…
— Support (@Support) October 17, 2023
The process of creating a new X account will involve an initial phone verification step, followed by the selection of one of the available subscription plans for payment. According to the official press release, new users using the web version of X will enjoy the ability to create and share content, like posts, engage in replies, repost content, as well as quote and bookmark posts from other accounts. Users who choose not to subscribe will be limited to reading posts, watching videos, and following other accounts.