Twitter is bringing its verification program back next year

In a blog post, Twitter has announced that they will be relaunching their verification program next year. This will open the possibility of getting that revered blue checkmark next to your name to many more users once again. The company is looking for feedback to shape its verification policy in order for it to serve users best.

We plan to relaunch verification, including a new public application process, in early 2021. But first, we need to update our verification policy with your help. This policy will lay the foundation for future improvements by defining what verification means, who is eligible for verification and why some accounts might lose verification to ensure the process is more equitable.

Twitter is focusing on verification for individuals or companies that fall under the following categories first:

• Government
• Companies, Brands and Non- Profit Organizations
• News
• Entertainment
• Sports
• Activists, Organizers, and Other Influential Individuals

In addition to getting more accounts verified, Twitter is also looking to remove verification for a number of accounts that are incomplete, inactive, or that violate the company's platform rules.

We've also added proposed criteria to automatically remove verification from an account if, for example, it's inactive or if the profile is incomplete, as well as grounds to deny or remove verification from certain qualified accounts that are found to be in repeated violation of the Twitter Rules. We recognize that there are many verified accounts on Twitter who should not be. We plan to start by automatically removing badges from accounts that are inactive or have incomplete profiles to help streamline our work and to expand this to include additional types of accounts over the course of 2021.

The company says that it is also looking into account types and labels for accounts to highlight expertise and differentiate accounts on the service.

But the blue verified badge isn't the only way we are planning to distinguish accounts on Twitter. Heading into 2021, we're committed to giving people more ways to identify themselves, such as new account types and labels. We'll share more in the coming weeks. This is just the beginning of what we have planned for 2021.

If you'd like to provide feedback to Twitter about the new verification program, you can complete the survey.