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Twitter hints at subscription-based platform with job listing

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Twitter is “building a subscription platform” and is currently searching for web engineers to make it happen, according to a job listing on the site.

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The social media platform, known for being free to use and open to the public even without an account, is looking for a new crop of employees to work hand-in-hand with its payments team to build out a pay-based model “that can be reused by other teams in the future.” The project is called “Gryphon.”

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However, Twitter quickly edited the job listing to remove references to a paid subscription, now simply saying it is looking for an “Android engineer.” Digital Trends reached out to Twitter about the job listing, as well as if and when it plans to launch a subscription service. We will update this story when we hear back.

The job listing first surfaced on the social media site itself Wednesday morning, but isn’t the first time Twitter has toyed with the idea, according to The Verge. Twitter ran a survey a few years back asking its users what sort of services they would be willing to fork over cash for, whether it be breaking news alerts or analytics.

The news of having to potentially pay for a platform sent a shock to many users, but quickly became a meme in itself: People began asking, “How much would you pay to see Chrissy Teigen’s tweets?” and “I can’t believe this site is only $2.99.” The potential for a new source of capital for the struggling social media company, which turned its first profit two years ago, also got Wall Street excited: Twitter’s stock rose 8% Wednesday.

The rumor of a subscription-based platform comes after months of new feature updates. Last month, Twitter introduced a feature where it suggested a user read an article before sharing, gave people the option to choose who replies to their threads, and fiercely added fact-check labels to tweets containing misinformation regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

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Meira Gebel
Meira Gebel
Meira Gebel is a freelance reporter based in Portland. She writes about tech, social media, and internet culture for Digital…
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