First reported by Fortune and later confirmed by Elon Musk, X will begin charging new users $1 per year to gain access to key features like publishing content, liking, reposting, bookmarking, and more.
Last month, while speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Musk revealed that he was thinking of paywalling the entire X platform to “stamp out bots”.
A new support article went live on X’s support website, which stated the following:
As of October 17th, 2023, we’ve started testing “Not A Bot”, a new subscription method for new users in two countries. This new test was developed to bolster our already significant efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity.
This will evaluate a potentially powerful measure to help us combat bots and spammers on X, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount. Within this test, existing users are not affected.
Related: Elon Musk Says X/ Twitter Will Begin Charging All Users Just To Use It
New users who opt out of subscribing will only be able to take “read only” actions, such as reading posts, watching videos, and following other accounts,
Shortly after the announcement, Elon Musk confirmed that the platform will be free to read, but would cost to write on.
‘Not A Bot’ Already Launched In Two Countries
Testing for the ’Not a Bot’ program has already been started in New Zealand and the Philippines.
- New users in the countries will be required to verify their phone numbers before joining the subscription.
- Users will be able to post content, Like posts, reply, repost and quote other accounts’ posts, and bookmark posts after subscribing.
- If new users opt out of the program, they will only be able to take “read only” actions, such as: reading posts, watching videos, and following accounts.
Pricing plans have also been unveiled, costing $1.43 NZD, or ₱42.51 PHP per year.
Users to participate in the program are subject to terms and conditions, which you can read here.
