I’ll admit that I was initially excited about the prospect of X Premium (Twitter Blue, as it was called back then). The lure of the blue checkmark, the ability to edit tweets, and other exclusive features got me into signing up. But after a while, the luster of the service wore off, and I found myself hitting the “unsubscribe” button as the features offered no longer justified the monthly cost.
There were many factors that led me to decide to cancel, from value for money to ineffective updates. Here I will explain the reasons why I decided to abandon this service. Check out Monetization Strategies with X (Twitter): A Guide to Optimizing Monetization for Content Creators.
1. Ads, even when I pay
One of the main reasons I signed up for X Premium was to avoid ads. I mean, isn’t that the whole point of paying for a service — to have a cleaner, more enjoyable experience? Well, I was disappointed when I realized that ads were still showing up in my timeline.
The amount of ads I get even being a premium subscriber is too much @X. Sometimes 4-5 ads in row 🤷.
— Priyash (@_priyashpatil) August 19, 2024
Clearly, the premium plan I was on ($8 per month) didn’t get rid of all the ads. If I really wanted an ad-free experience, I’d have to upgrade to the top-tier plan, Premium+, which starts at $16 per month. At that point, I wondered if I was paying for the privilege of getting an upgrade.
2. The downside of revenue sharing
X’s ad revenue sharing program was another feature that I thought might be nice, but ended up being more annoying. As a premium subscriber, I was eligible to earn a share of the ad revenue from my posts. The downside? Whenever I shared an opinion that seemed controversial, some users would accuse me of “engagement exploitation” just to make money.
It didn’t matter that I’d been posting similar content long before revenue sharing at X was a thing — suddenly, everything I said felt suspect. Not only did the accusations undermine the conversations I was trying to have, they made the whole experience feel more toxic and less authentic.
This completely changed the way I used the platform. I started to reconsider what I posted, worried about being misunderstood or accused of being inauthentic. It took away the joy of expressing myself freely, which is one of the main reasons I use social media in the first place.
3. Loss of verification due to minor modifications
My favorite feature of using X Premium is the blue check mark next to my name, which indicates that I am a verified user. But I quickly discovered that this badge comes with a drawback.
Every time I made the smallest change to my profile — whether it was updating my profile picture or changing my display name — I would temporarily lose my verification mark. While I understand the need for security measures, the hassle of re-verifying every time I made a change seemed excessive.
If I can go days without the verification mark I pay for, what's stopping me from canceling my X Premium subscription altogether?
4. Free trial works well.
Perhaps the biggest reason I canceled my X Premium subscription was simply because the free trial on X worked well enough for my needs. I use the platform primarily for fun — scrolling through my news feed, sharing the occasional post, and interacting with friends and followers. The marginal benefits of upgrading weren’t worth spending $16 a month for X Premium+.
Also making previously premium features like voice and video calling on X free makes me believe that more premium features will become free over time.
While X Premium had its advantages, they didn’t outweigh the negatives for me. The constant ads, accusations of exploiting engagement, and fragile verification status made the experience feel less premium than I expected. When I compared it to the free version of X, which met most of my needs, the decision to cancel became clear. At the end of the day, I realized that sometimes sticking with what’s free can be just as satisfying, if not more so. You can now read Does the blue check mark on X (Twitter) matter?
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