X to get a huge free upgrade that will genuinely improve the network

It's been a turbulent ten months for the platform formerly known as Twitter. Since it was purchased by Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, in October 2022, the app has gone through a series of changes, most notably changing its name to X.

Surrounding that has been a spate of unusual feature choices. From introducing a video calling feature which absolutely no-one asked for, to relegating the accounts you actually follow and replacing them with paid subscribers that rarely align with your views and beliefs, the site appears to be wilting fast.

Still, as they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day. And, even when it seems hellbent on self-imploding, a useful X feature can come along every now and again.

That's exactly what has been unearthed by app researcher, Nima Owji. At the start of the month, Owji spotted a reference to ID verification on the platform. And now, they've found even more details.

According to the screenshot shared on their Twitter X profile, users need to share an image of their government issued ID and take a selfie. That should make it harder for people to have their identity mimicked by a seemingly real profile.

Based on the screenshots shared by Owji, it looks like the new step will be required to unlock the features of the paid-for verification system. The text in the image says, "Verify your government-issued ID to confirm your identity and unlock features as a Blue subscriber."

That's a good thing. When the verification system was first changed from a genuine mark of significance to a paid-for sticker, there were some pretty serious ramifications. Users could – and did – pay $8 for Twitter Blue, get their verified badge and begin mimicking companies and high-profile individuals. One tweet even sent the stock price of a healthcare company plummeting.

Does this feel like too little, too late? Absolutely. Realistically, this should have been part of the initial change, to stop frauds from trying to steal the identity of other individuals. 

But hey, lets give credit where it's due. This is still a positive change, and should at least stem the flow of verified bots and parody accounts. Hopefully, this can act as the catalyst for some more positive change across the platform.