Mere mortals can now apply for a verified Twitter account

Twitter has announced that anyone can now apply to have their Twitter account verified. Prior to this, users had to be famous and wield influence in specific fields to have this honour bestowed on them. There was also no way to apply for verification.

While users can now apply, Twitter does not guarantee approval. The account, according to the company, will only be verified if it is determined to be of public interest.

To request an account to be verified, users need to fill out a form and provide a verified phone number, confirmed email address, bio, profile photo, header photo, birthday (for accounts that are not company, brand, or organization accounts), website and tweets have to be set as publicly available.

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Explaining the change in policy, Tina Bhatnagar, Twitter’s vice president of user services, said that the company’s “goal with this update is to help more people find great, high-quality accounts to follow, and for creators and influencers – no matter where they are in the world – to easily connect with a broader audience.”

Perks of having a verified account, besides that people are more likely to follow you in their thousands, include the ability to filter notifications to only show replies, mentions and likes by other verified users.

The application process has started rolling out and will be available globally this week.