Meta has started testing a subscription service allowing Facebook and Instagram users to pay to be verified.
The “Meta Verified” service costs $11.99 a month on the web or $14.99 a month on iOS or Android.
- In a post announcing
the plans, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said testing will start in
Australia and New Zealand. It's expected to roll out to the U.S. and
other countries later this year.
- Users will have to submit a government ID to receive a verified "blue badge" on their accounts.
- Those badges were previously free and only available to businesses or public figures.
- In addition to the verification, subscribers will receive direct access to customer support, higher visibility, added protection from impersonators, and other "exclusive features."
- The goal is to increase "authenticity and security" across Meta's services, according to Zuckerberg.
- In
December, Twitter relaunched its similar Blue paid subscription
service. In addition to getting a blue verified checkmark, it allows
individual users to edit tweets and view fewer ads.
- As of January, Twitter Blue had an estimated 290,000 global subscribers, a small fraction of its more than 350 million monthly active users as of 2022.
