Official reason
Verification restructured under Twitter Blue / X Premium.
X (Twitter) · Social
Legacy verification
RIP
2009–2022 · 13 years in market
The blue check as a signal of identity, not payment. Retired when checks went on sale.
Launched
Jun 1, 2009
Discontinued
Nov 8, 2022
Cause of death
Strategic refocus
What actually happened
Selling the check converted a trust marker into a subscription badge. Impersonation followed.
Lesson
If a symbol means ‘this is who it says,’ do not put it on a price list. Trust is not a SKU.
Similar products that survived
X (Twitter)
X Premium
The paid check, with different meaning.
Related autopsies
X (Twitter)
RIP
Crashlytics (Twitter era)
2011–2017 · 6 yrs
The crash reporter Twitter owned via Crashlytics/Fabric, then sold. Still alive — just not at X.
Developer Tools/Acquired, then shut down+40
X (Twitter)
RIP
Twitter Moments
2015–2022 · 7 yrs
Curated story-packs of tweets. Editorial Twitter in an app that hates editors.
Media & Publishing/Strategic refocus+38
X (Twitter)
RIP
Revue
2021–2023 · 2 yrs
A newsletter tool Twitter bought to keep writers on-platform. Killed after the ownership change.
Media & Publishing/Strategic refocus+37
RIP
Google Moderator
2008–2015 · 7 yrs
Crowd-ranked questions for town halls and keynotes. Quietly useful, quietly killed.
Social/Low usage+36