Elon Musk said on Friday that the "legacy blue checks" on Twitter, the blue ticks on verified handles that have not subscribed to Twitter Blue, will be removed soon.

Musk announced that Twitter will remove the blue checkmarks given in the past to users to indicate "active, notable, and authentic accounts of public interest" verified by the platform.

Musk, in reply to a tweet questioning Twitter's paid subscription model, said, "Legacy blue checks will be removed soon. Those are the ones that are truly corrupt."
Twitter Blue was launched in India on Thursday. The monthly fee for iOS and Android users in India is ₹ 900 while the fee has been kept lower at ₹ 650 per month for the web.

"Blue subscribers with a verified phone number will get a blue checkmark once approved," Twitter said.

Last year, Musk had announced that Twitter Blue will cost USD 8 (about ₹ 660) per month, but it will be priced differently for various markets.

The Tesla and SpaceX Chief had defended the much-criticised paid verification plan by saying that the blue checkmark will be the "great leveler".

"Widespread verification will democratize journalism & empower the voice of the people," he had tweeted.

The plan backfired, however, when verified handles changed their user names to 'Elon Musk' to test the new Twitter owner who describes himself as a "free speech absolutist".