Twitter now known as X has made several changes to the user interface, adding several features and removing some while tweaking a few things here and there.
One such change is the different symbols and badges that are quite common on the platform, the purple star being one of them.
The symbols are used to classify people and tweets, and usually, a symbol will tell you a lot about what or who you are viewing on Twitter.
When you find a purple star in the notifications tab of your application, it means that you are looking at a recommended tweet.
What are recommended tweets?
Recommended tweets are posts that are suggested to Twitter users depending on several factors and different applied algorithms.
On Twitter, recommended tweets can be found in several parts explained below;
- User’s home timeline: With the recent update, the tweets here are divided into the For you and Following tabs.
For You tab shows tweets from accounts and topics the user follows, while suggestions under the Following tab are according to the topics and accounts followed by those whom the user follows.
- Explore: Here the proposed tweets are about several subjects customized for the user’s better experience and are divided into For you, Trending and News, Sports, and Entertainment tabs.
Under For You are the trends and events Twitter thinks will interest the user depending on their previous activity.
Trending is for the current affairs depending on the user’s location and the News tab is for top stories around the world on different topics.
- Ads: Promoted tweets under the Ads option are most often paid for by the different account owners to increase their reach on the platform.
These are advertised tweets that are usually found as you scroll through your timeline or reply thread to a post.
- Notifications tab: Here the tweets recommended are often alerts sent to pique the interest of the user and encourage them to participate more on the platform.
- Twitter Spaces: Spaces are live meetings on Twitter and here the promoted tweets are in the form of Ads.
- Topic landing pages: These are the pages that a user comes to when they search for a certain topic.
The recommended tweets here are organized into those that have the greatest activity, are trending, or are the most recently shared.
What does a purple star mean?
A purple star is found on promoted tweets in the notification tab that are sent as alerts to users who have not been actively involved on the platform for a while.
To be inactive on Twitter means that the user has not engaged in tweets, liked, retweeted, or posted anything on the platform for a while. It may vary from a few weeks to months.
These alerts are meant to keep the user updated about what is happening on the platform and to encourage them to come back.
Note that since these are recommended tweets, it means that they are not necessarily from people the user knows or follows.
When the user taps on this notification, it means that they have opened and viewed the tweet, therefore this post will be removed after 24 hours.
It will then be replaced by another mentioned tweet with a purple star, and when it is also opened it will be replaced and the cycle continues.
Determination of recommended tweets with purple stars
Some of the factors that are used to decide the suggested tweets in the notification tab include;
- The previous activity of the user like the tweets they have liked or re-tweeted
- The tweets they have clicked on to expand and view the details
- The topics they have chosen to follow on the platform
- The nature of the previous tweets they have shared
- The interests and activities of the people they follow
- The accounts followed by the people the user follows
Even with the above factors, Twitter still applies a certain system to choose what tweets to suggest out of the many.
The algorithm will be determined by your location, the analytics on the tweets, and how many times they are viewed, reposted, or liked.
Also, tweets that have interesting media and include external links are endorsed more than the rest since they are meant to entice the user to return to the platform more frequently.
The other elements that affect the algorithm include ranking, filters, product features, and candidate sourcing.
Also Read: Twitter Rebrands As X
Can purple stars be disabled?
Purple star notifications can be nagging and it is common knowledge among Twitter users that they would want to stop them.
Unfortunately, these notifications can’t exactly be stopped by changing a certain setting to your preferences.
The only sure way to stop getting these purple stars is by being more active on the platform since they are only sent because the user account is inactive.
However, pop-up notifications can be avoided on one’s device by changing account settings.
To change these settings go to the notification tab and tap on the settings icon at the top right corner of the page then preferences.
Alternatively, tap on your profile picture, click the down arrow next to Settings & Support, then select Settings and Privacy, Notifications and choose Preferences.
Under preferences, you can decide to change push, SMS, email, and unread notifications count settings.
Tip: Note that this will not stop the purple stars in the notification tab but you will see them the moment you open the app or log into your Twitter account.
Can purple star notifications be personalized?
Since they are inevitable, one can make them bearable by deciding what suggestions you get with these purple stars.
Customize your recommended tweet notification settings by going to notification settings and choosing the filters option.
Here you can modify alerts by;
- Deciding on eliminating low-quality content like repeated and seemingly automated posts.
- Muting notifications from certain accounts and avoiding spam accounts.
- Muting words such that you do not get tweets that have these words in them.
However, note that changing these settings will not affect notifications from the accounts that you follow.
You can also block accounts of suggested tweets that you do not wish to see again in your notifications.
Other symbols on the Twitter notification tab
As earlier mentioned, Twitter is a platform that is full of symbols. Apart from the purple star, here are other symbols that you may come across in your notifications tab.
FAQs
What do the symbols mean on Twitter?
In addition to the symbols mentioned in this article, here are the meanings of more symbols on Twitter:
Analytics: This is now attached beside all tweets to indicate impressions, that is; how many views it has received.
If it is your tweet, then you will able to see how many times your post was clicked on, how many people saw it on their timelines, and how many liked or retweeted it.
Monetization: You will mostly find this icon in your menu settings talking about how to money from your tweets.
It can also be seen on the profile pages of users who qualify to receive tips.
Subscriptions: You will find this icon on users’ profiles who get paid for sharing specific content with certain viewers.
The subscription fees are monthly and are set by the account holders.
Communities: This is a new icon and feature on the Twitter platform where you can find and join certain groups and discussions depending on your interests.
You can even choose to look up a certain keyword to get suggestions of communities related to them.
Notifications: This icon is for the alerts tab on the app but you can also find it on profile pages of different users and tap on it to receive notifications from them.
Lists: This is where you find a group of accounts that you added so that you keep updated about whatever they tweet.
Explore: This is the tab where you can keep up with any trending topics, news, and most publicized videos.
Share: You will find this when you expand a shared post. Clicking on it gives you more symbols to;
Add: This symbol is in the bottom corner of the page for adding media to the platform and tapping on it gives you the following symbols
How do you get a blue star on Twitter?
The blue star, also commonly known as the blue badge is the symbol that is attached to verified accounts. It is also referred to as X premium.
To get this badge, an account needs to pay a subscription fee that depends on the region the owner is located, the device they use, and the type of premium account.
The starting fee for these accounts ranges from $3 to $16 per month and $32 to $168 per year depending on the pricing of your location.
To be eligible to pay this fee, an account must:
- Have a display name and profile photo
- Have been active in the past 30 days
- Have a verified phone number
- Not have any behavior of a spam account like changes to profile details, or manipulation of the platform data.
What do the different color Twitter badges mean?
There are three colors of badges on Twitter determined by the type of account.
Blue badge: It is sometimes referred to as Twitter blue and is associated with verified or premium accounts.
Accounts with this badge have access to exclusive features like limited or no ads, the ability to earn money from tweets, ability to edit and undo posts among others.
Gold checkmark: This badge means that the account belongs to a verified organization and it goes hand in hand with a square profile.
Grey badge: This one means that the account is attached to a government or multilateral organization.
It is sometimes accompanied by a logo of that particular organization or government beside it.
Other badges on the platform include:
Affiliation badges: These are profile pictures of verified organizations that are tagged on profiles of their respective associated accounts.
Automation symbols: Attached to accounts that are operated by bots and not actual humans.
Professional or business symbols: Linked to profiles of professional accounts that belong to businesses like restaurants.
How can you get paid on Twitter?
There are several ways to get paid on Twitter which is also known as Twitter monetization.
You can get paid through Ads on the platform through the Ads Revenue Sharing and Twitter Amplify programs.
You may also get paid through commissions on your tweets via Sponsored tweets, Affiliate marketing, and Ticketed Spaces.
It is also possible to earn money directly on Twitter from Tips, Subscriptions, and the Twitter Spaces Spark Program.
Alternatively, you may also earn money by advertising your goods and services on the platform.
To know more about how to earn money on Twitter, check out Top Twitter Monetization Requirements
What is the trending symbol on Twitter?
The trending symbol is the hashtag (#) symbol. It is attached to tweets that talk about a trending topic, although sometimes people use it just to boost their post analytics.
Trending keywords are usually from currently happening occasions like a football match, a news event, an election, and so many others.
Conclusion
The purple star may not be any Twitter user’s favorite thing to see in the notification tab but it will present an opportunity to expand your social network.
You will also be able to get to know new things and engage more with several people since most of these tweets are usually trending.
I hope this article has shed some much-needed light on what it means and how to limit interacting with it as much as possible,
