This browser extension tells you who paid for Twitter verification

Twitter verification is now just $8 away, but that doesn't mean the social network has democratized its long-standing status symbol entirely. The Twitter verification badge is now split between two different groups: accounts that were officially verified for being "notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category," and accounts that paid for the checkmark by being subscribed to Twitter Blue. But it can be difficult to tell the difference between the two types of verified accounts without clicking into their individual profiles, which is why one Twitter user created a tool to make it a lot easier.

Introducing Eight Dollars, a simple browser extension that swaps out Twitter's standard verification badge for two different labels that spell out if an account is "actually verified" or if it "paid for verification." Without the extension, you'd need to click on a user's profile, and then tap on the verification checkmark to determine if the user's check was approved by Twitter staff or purchased through Twitter Blue, but Eight Dollars makes that information available directly in your timeline.

If you're confused by the new Twitter Verification feature, I've been working with some friends on a Chrome Extension that helps you tell the differencehttps://t.co/zXkwzhXIc1 pic.twitter.com/pHTBswBnnE

— Walter Lim (@iWaltzAround) November 10, 2022

The extension was originally only available for Chrome, but New Zealand designer Walter Lim says it should work with Microsoft Edge as well as Firefox, and he's also added Safari to his to-do list. Installing any of them will take a little extra work: the add-on is currently only available on GitHub, and needs to be installed manually using the browser's developer mode. Even so, it could be worth the effort — unless you like being fooled by hackneyed scam accounts and impersonators.