Meta Chief Executive, Mark Zuckerberg, announced a paid subscription service called Meta Verified, on Sunday. The users of the service will be able to add the coveted blue check mark to their Instagram and Facebook accounts after verifying their identity.
An account can be verified using a government ID, as announced by Zuckerberg in his Facebook post.
What do we know about Meta Verified?
Users of the Meta Verified subscription service will be able to access the verified blue badge for both their Facebook and Instagram accounts. This implies that users will be able to use this service to verify their Facebook and Instagram accounts. The service is priced at $11.99 per month on the web or $14.99 monthly on Apple's iOS system.
Meta Verified “is about increasing authenticity and security across our services,” said Zuckerberg in the Facebook post. The subscription service will be rolled out in Australia and New Zealand. It will be extended to “more countries soon,” he said, without elaborating on the timeline.
In order to avail the subscription, accounts must be at least 18 years old and meet minimum activity requirements, such as a history of prior postings. The next step is for applicants to provide a government ID that corresponds to the profile name and image of the Facebook or Instagram account they are applying for, as mandated by the blog shared by Meta. The blog also specified that businesses are not eligible for this blue badge verification, as of now.
The new paid service sounds a lot like Elon Musk’s $8 per month version of Twitter Blue, but Meta noted that it won’t make any changes to accounts that have been verified using the company’s previous requirements, including "notability and authenticity". In addition, the blog specified that changing the profile name, username, birthday, or profile photo will require a new verification process.
What will you get with a paid blue badge?
-Enumerating the perks of the subscription service, the post read that it will also offer “increased visibility and reach,” improved protection against impersonation attacks and direct access to customer support.
-Users who sign up for the service will also receive 100 free stars per month, which can be used as virtual currency to show support for other creators.
-In addition to this, the users will get exclusive stickers for Stories and Reels on Facebook and Instagram.
“Long term, we want to build a subscription offering that’s valuable to everyone, including creators, businesses and our community at large,” Meta writes in the blog post. The blog also read that, with this, they are "evolving the meaning of the verified badge so we can expand access to verification and more people can trust the accounts they interact with are authentic.”