Twitter Super Follow borrows OnlyFans strategy to charge for tweets

By Chris Davies/

Twitter is preparing to launch paid tweets, with a new Super Follow system which will work a little like Patreon or OnlyFans. Announced during the company's investors presentation, Super Follow will offer a new way for those with followings on Twitter to monetize that audience, with everything from exclusive content to special badging.

Twitter has long talked about – and, according to rumors and leaks, been working on internally – a way to squeeze more profit out of its service than through advertising alone. One of the most common expectations has been a monthly or annual subscription, which would remove ads from users' timelines, among other potential perks.

This Twitter Super Follow system, however, takes a different approach. In effect, it would allow users of the service to individually monetize their own shared content, much in the way that services like Patreon and OnlyFans do today. Exactly what could be offered seems to be down to the individual user's preferences.

In an example shared by Twitter, for instance, that could be anything from a badge showing that you're a supporter of a certain tweeter, or subscriber-only newsletters. It might include exclusive content that wouldn't be available to non-Super Followers, or deals & discounts for certain products and services.

Individual tweets shared with Super Followers would only support viewing and replying by those subscribers, according to screenshots posted by The Verge.

Finally, there's also "Community access," a reference to another new feature that was revealed today. Twitter Communities are effectively closed groups, built around individual topics: that could be gardening, exercise, or even hashtags such as #SocialJustice, Twitter suggested. Communities could seemingly be open to any Twitter user wanting to join, or closed and require invitation – potentially after signing up as a Super Follower first – to take part.

Twitter is presumably envisaging following the strategy of other sites, and taking a cut of Super Follow fees. Exactly how much it'll cost will seemingly depending on the individual creator: Twitter's example is $4.99 per month with the ability to cancel at any time. However it's likely that users would be able to set their own amount based on what they believe their community will pay.

There's no indication as to when the new features will launch.

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