Twitter is testing a tag for accounts with verified phone numbers

Maverick billionaire Elon Musk and Twitter may be slugging it out over bots but the microblogging platform is testing another method to help people identify verified accounts.

A new tag will be displayed in the user's profile if they have chosen to verify their phone numbers.

As discovered by engineer Jane Manchun Wong, Twitter is testing a small label at the bottom of profiles of the users with verified phone numbers. For now, it's a simple tag, shaped like a shield with the text "verified phone number".
The microblogging platform advises users verify their phone numbers and email ids. It helps add more authenticity to an account and the company has a separate label for automated accounts.

If you want that much-coveted blue tick, you will have to verify both your phone number and email address. Given the company's problems with hacks and bots, Twitter is looking to step up verification of legitimate accounts.

The issue of bots has proven to be a "deal-breaker", with Musk refusing to go ahead with his plan to buy Twitter, saying the microblogging platform was not sharing the real number of bots and actual accounts.

Besides the badge, Twitter is also testing a view counter for tweets. Again it was Wong who found this. It will show up as a small eye symbol next to the heart symbol for likes, which will tell users the number of times their Tweet has been viewed.