Update 5/1/23: Title updated to reflect this bug only allowed the user to see their legacy check. See update at end of article.
A silly Twitter bug allowed previously-verified accounts to add their legacy ‘Blue Check’ back to their profile for free.
On April 20th, Twitter finally removed the legacy verified check marks from accounts worldwide that were used to demonstrate the authenticity of accounts belonging to businesses, celebrities, politicians, activists, and journalists.
Twitter Blue had previously replaced this system, allowing anyone to purchase a verified checkmark for their Twitter account for $8 per month.
Bug brings back legacy checkmarks
Today, Twitter users discovered that they could add the words “former blue check” to their Twitter bio, and a bug would bring back the legacy verified check mark to their profile.
BleepingComputer briefly tested this bug on our profile, which lost its blue check on April 20th, and can confirm it brings back the original blue ‘Verified account’ checkmark.
Source: BleepingComputer
Unlike the previous checkmark that had been in place since the launch of Twitter Blue, this one contains the original text used before Musk started promoting Twitter Blue.
“This account is verified because it’s notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category,” reads the legacy verified check mark.
As Musk has rushed to release new features to Twitter, bugs were invariably added to the platform and not detected due to the lack of prolonged testing.
While this bug will likely be fixed shortly, if the blue check is important to you, you can get it back by using this bug.
Update 5/1/23: After the publication of this story, BleepingComputer has been told that this bug may have only caused the check to appear for the profile owner themselves.
Furthermore, it appears that the bug is fixed, or we previously saw unusual behavior. On later testing, adding the string to your bio and refreshing causes the check to disappear.