The blue tick was previously free to certain accounts, such as celebrities, politicians, brands, and journalists.

It was designed to help people on Twitter to identify genuine accounts. An update to Apple devices over the weekend now gives people the option of signing up to a paid-for service.

It comes as Elon Musk bought Twitter last month for $44billion after months of public negotiations.

‘Twitter Blue’ will cost $7.99 a month

In some countries, including the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, users of Twitter will be able to pay for the new service, called ‘Twitter Blue’.

An update for some became available on Saturday and it said: “Power to the people: your account will get a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow.”

It’s expected to soon be available as an option to anyone signed up to Twitter.

Musk, who acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter in March, also sent a number of tweets about the new service including: “Trash me all day, but it’ll cost $8.”

He also said any accounts which are found to be impersonating another person or company which don’t clearly specify they are parody accounts will be permanently suspended.

Twitter has been free to use since it was created in 2006. Previously, users could apply for a verified blue tick for free. The platform has around 400 million users.

Changes to the social media platform

A host of other features are also expected on the social media platform including allowing people to attach long-form text to tweets, to post longer videos, and a reduction in the adverts they see.

The company has also started making staff cuts and some reports predict as many as 7,500 people could lose their jobs.

Twitter co-founder, Jack Dorsey, said on the platform: “I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologize for that.”