Meta has launched a paid verification system called “Meta Verified” for Facebook and Instagram platforms.
According to Mark Zuckerberg in a Facebook post yesterday, Meta Verified is “a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support.”
Innovation Village had reported 2 weeks ago that Instagram was rumoured to be working on a subscription plan that included the blue badge as was found in code snippets that suggested the company might be thinking about letting users pay for verification.
Zuckerberg mentioned that Meta Verified will cost $11.99 a month on web and $14.99 a month on iOS and Android and the new feature was about increasing increasing authenticity and security across Meta’s services
This initiative is following in the footsteps of Twitter’s paid-for-verification system, Twitter Blue. Elon Musk’s Twitter announced a couple of days ago that users who do not subscribe to Twitter Blue will no longer be able to use two-factor authentication via text message starting next month. They will need to use other verification methods to secure their accounts.
This should bring some added revenue to Meta as its revenues have taken a hit in recent years with Apple’s decision to introduce stringent privacy changes on iOS that curtails the social firm’s ability to track users’ internet activities. Meta said last year that Apple’s move would cost the company more than $10 billion in lost ads revenue in 2022.
Meta claims that in the long term, it wants to build a subscription offering that’s valuable to everyone, including creators, businesses and its community at large. As part of this vision, It is evolving the meaning of the verified badge so it can expand access to verification and more people can trust the accounts they interact with are authentic.
Meta will be rolling out Meta Verified in Australia and New Zealand this week and more countries soon.
