Meta Introduces $12 Per Month Paid Verification For Instagram and Facebook

In an update on Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that “This week, we're starting to roll out Meta Verified, a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts that claim your identity, and access customer support directly.

Besides, he writes “This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services.”

Meta's testing paid verification for Instagram and Facebook for $11.99 per month on the web and $14.99 per month on mobile.

The feature is rolling out in Australia and New Zealand this week and will reach more countries “soon”, there it will cost AUD 19.99 on the web and AUD 24.99 on mobile, or NZD 23.99 on the web and NZD 29.99 on mobile. The higher cost on iOS and Android is probably a way to offset the commission both Apple and Google take on in-app purchases.

How to sign up for Meta Verified

To sign up to be Meta Verified, you must meet the minimum activity requirements, be at least 18 years of age or older, and present an official ID that matches the name and photo you have on Facebook or Instagram. 

Additionally, users who sign up for the service will receive special stickers for Stories and Reels, as well as 100 free stars per month or digital currency that you can use to tip creators on Facebook. Meta states that businesses cannot yet apply for the Meta Verified badge, and you cannot change your profile name, username, birthday, or profile photo without going through the verification process.

Rumors about the service first surfaced earlier this month when a report came in. TechCrunch shared references to paid verification in Instagram's source code. Social media consultant Matt Navarra later posted what appears to be a support page for paid verification on the Australian or New Zealand-based version of Instagram.

That said, it's hard to ignore the parallels between Meta's new checkmark subscription and the Twitter Blue that Musk rebooted months ago. It seems Meta takes account authenticity a little more seriously, but we still don't know what those are, as they still require users to submit their government IDs (as the old Twitter verification process did) and offer additional protections against supposedly fake accounts. Let's hope it doesn't cause the flood of fake verified accounts we saw on Twitter last year.

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