You’ll soon have to pay to use TweetDeck

Twitter has said that from early August, only verified users will be able to use TweetDeck.

The web-based dashboard offers Twitter power users a range of features, including the ability to organize and manage feeds across multiple columns.

TweetDeck has always been free, but as new Twitter owner Elon Musk and recently installed CEO Linda Yaccarino look for ways to rake in much-needed revenue, the company has decided to put the popular tool behind a paywall.

From August 2, you’ll need to be a verified user to continue using TweetDeck. Twitter’s verified tier — known officially as Twitter Blue — currently costs from $8 per month or $84 per year and brings with it features such as the ability to edit tweets, prioritized rankings in conversation and search, and fewer ads. You’re also given a blue check mark.

Twitter has been testing a new version of TweetDeck for some time, and users are being invited to try it via a link on the current interface.

In a tweet on Monday announcing the changes, Twitter said that all saved searches, lists, and columns will be carried over to the new version of TweetDeck via an “import” prompt that shows when you load the application for the first time.

The new version of TweetDeck supports full composer functionality, Spaces, video docking, polls, and more. However, Teams functionality in TweetDeck is temporarily unavailable and will be restored in the coming weeks, the company said.

The changes come just days after Elon Musk announced that the company was limiting verified accounts to reading 10,000 posts a day, unverified accounts to 1,000 a day, and new unverified accounts to 500 a day.

Musk said the action was needed to prevent tech companies from scraping Twitter data to train their AI tools — something he has long been upset about as the data is being utilized without permission — though some see the move as another attempt at nudging non-verified users into paying for Twitter Blue.

Since Twitter brought in the reading limits at the weekend, elements of the older version of TweetDeck have stopped working for some users.

Twitter has faced so many disruptions, changes, and renewed concern over hate speech since Musk bought the company in October that some frustrated users are exploring alternative options like Mastodon and Bluesky. There’s also much interest in Threads, a Twitter-like tool linked to Instagram that is expected to launch on Thursday, July 6.

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