Now Facebook and Instagram want to sell you blue verification ticks
Meta Verified gives users a seal of authenticity for $12 a month
Facebook and Instagram users will soon be able to pay for blue tick verification, as Meta rolls out a premium subscription service similar to what Twitter introduced last year.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in a Facebook post that Meta Verified will cost $11.99 a month on the web and $14.99 a month on iOS, and grants users a verification badge, extra security protections against impersonators, and direct access to customer support. It will roll out to Australia and New Zealand this week and arrive in more countries soon.
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Meta Verified
☑ Meta is monetizing account verification
💲 Users will be able to buy themselves a blue tick for $11.99 a month
👀 Meta Verified also offers extra security and increased visibility
😬 It follows the roll-out of Twitter Blue last year
Verified users will also enjoy increased visibility and reach in areas like search, comments and recommendations, as well as exclusive stickers for Facebook and Instagram stories and 100 free stars (Facebook’s premium currency that’s used to tip content creators).
Businesses aren’t currently eligible to apply to the platform, and Meta says it won’t be making any changes to users that are currently verified because of their authenticity and notability. Once your profile has been verified, though, you won’t be able to change your profile name, username, date of birth, or photo without going through the whole verification application process again.
To be granted verification, users will have to submit a government ID that matches the profile name and photo of their Facebook or Instagram account, preventing trolls from impersonating official brands and public figures like they did when Twitter introduced paid-for blue ticks last year.
“Long term, we want to build a subscription offering that’s valuable to everyone, including creators, businesses and our community at large,” Meta said in a blog post. “As part of this vision, we 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.”
Meta Verification is a clear parallel to Twitter Blue, although premium subscriptions for social media are nothing new. Discord, Reddit and YouTube all have optional paid tiers, even if their additional features aren’t enough to convince the majority of users to shell out on the otherwise free platforms.
did cancel Spotify for YouTube Premium, however, due to the benefits the service provides.Twitter Blue had a rocky rollout and was delayed as the company grappled with how to price the subscription service and stop impersonators from using verification unscrupulously. Meta has already anticipated those problems with a set price and an official ID authentication process. Now, it will be hoping the platform proves successful, and not only earns it some extra money but positive publicity after it laid off 11,000 employees last year.