How to Get Twitter’s Blue Badge of Authenticity

Q. How do you get “verified” on Twitter? Are there specific requirements?

A. Impersonation, either for parody accounts (like @Queen_UK) or for more sinister reasons, has been a fact of life on Twitter for years. Beginning in 2009, the company began to place a blue check badge next to names of accounts it had “verified” as real to help its users recognize the legitimate Twitter feeds of government officials, celebrities, professional athletes and public agencies.

Twitter handled the verification process itself for years. The company’s site states, “An account may be verified if it is determined to be an account of public interest. Typically this includes accounts maintained by users in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key interest areas.” (Keep in mind that some legitimate accounts lack the verified badge, so be careful when interacting with users you do not know.)

Last month, the company announced that it was adding an application process for people who feel they should have verified accounts even if Twitter has not deemed them so already. To request verification for an account, log in and go to https://verification.twitter.com. Follow the steps on screen.

You will need to provide some personal information, including a confirmed telephone number and email address, a short biography, profile and header photos, an affiliated website and your date of birth. You also need to have your tweets in public view and not at the “protected” privacy setting.

If you get selected for verification, Twitter will contact you by email. Verified accounts are often targets for hackers who try to phish out passwords with copycat profiles that appear similar to Twitter’s own official accounts. Remember that Twitter representatives do not ask for your password in direct messages or replies. The company’s Help Center Account Security Tips page is worth a read.