Here's all you need to know about Twitter's various kinds of ticks, labels

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, the platform has seen some significant changes in its profile identification policies. Social media has been abuzz with the introduction of new features on the social media giant.

Users are aware of the Blue-tick on Twitter which was reserved for active and prominent users on the platform that Twitter counts as “notable” profiles. However, there are various other labels and badges of different colours and designs that help differentiate one profile from another.

For example, the blue and the golden ticks serve two different purposes. The social media giant has explained the changes on its website.

Gold checkmark and square profile picture 

The gold check mark indicates that the account is an official business account through Twitter Verification for Organisations.

Grey checkmark

The grey checkmark indicates that an account represents a government institution or official, or a multilateral organisation. Eligible government institutions include national and local crisis response, public safety, law enforcement, and regulatory agencies, embassies, and other major national-level agencies. Eligible elected or appointed officials include heads of state, foreign official spokespeople, top diplomatic leaders, and cabinet members (national level). Eligible multilateral organisations include institutional accounts, top officials, and official spokespeople.

Official labels

The official profile label is applied to commercial companies including business partners, major brands, media outlets, and publishers.

State-affiliated media labels and government labels

Labels on profiles related to the state provide additional context about accounts that are controlled by certain state-affiliated media entities and individuals closely associated with those entities. Government labels apply to accounts heavily engaged in geopolitics and diplomacy from main countries where Twitter operates.

These labels also contain information about the country the account is affiliated with and whether a government representative or a state-affiliated media entity operates it. Additionally, a small icon of a flag is included, to signal the account’s status as a government account or as a podium for state-affiliated media.

Automated account labels

Automated labels provide transparency by helping you identify whether an account is a bot. When an account displays the "automated" account label you know the account is generating automated content not produced by a human. Automated account labels — currently in testing — appear on account profiles under profile names and handles.

Professional category labels

Professional category labels are selected by people on Twitter when they convert to a Professional Account. Twitter does not control the selection of these labels, and users may change their professional category at any time.