Twitter planning new in-app verification process with publicly documented guidelines

After shuttering its public verification program in 2017, Twitter is now planning to launch a revamped system with publicly documented guidelines. Reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong has found evidence of a new “Request Verification” option coming to the Twitter app, and the company has offered additional details on its plans to TechCrunch.

To recap, Twitter closed down its verification program in 2017 after several controversies, including several white supremacists being verified through the original system. In 2018, Twitter promised to reopen verification to everyone, but with some significant changes.

Wong, who regularly discovers new social media features before they’re announced, has now found evidence that Twitter is working on a way for users to request verification directly in the Twitter app. The option would be located in the Account Settings page of the Twitter app under “personal information,” but it’s not yet available.

Twitter confirmed to TechCrunch that Wong’s screenshot “shows the forthcoming option to request verification.” Specific details remain unclear, but Twitter says it will also publicly document what is required to be verified:

This time around, Twitter will also publicly document what qualifies a Twitter user to be verified. The hope is that with more clarity and transparency around the process, people will understand why the company makes the choices it does.

Twitter in the past had internal guidelines around verification, but this will be the first time Twitter has ever publicly and specifically documented those rules.

There’s still no timetable for when Twitter plans to launch this new verification program to the public, but this is the first update we’ve had on the project since 2018. In fact, the last we’d heard from Twitter was when the company said it was pausing its work on verification reform as it doubled down on “information quality” during the US mid-term election cycle in 2018.

What do you think Twitter’s verification system needs in order to be successful? Let us know down in the comments!

Twitter is working on “Request Verification” 👀

(I’m not Twitter employee. I’m not tech support) pic.twitter.com/ED58QsD7kM

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) June 7, 2020