Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is taking a page from Elon Musk: The social giant is rolling out “Meta Verified,” a subscription service for Instagram and Facebook users that includes a verified blue check-mark badge and other perks.
Meta Verified starts at $11.99/month on web or $14.99/month on Apple’s iOS. The company will launch the service in Australia and New Zealand this week with more countries “soon,” Zuckerberg, Meta’s chairman and CEO, said in announcing the plans Sunday.
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,” Zuckerberg wrote in posts on Facebook and Instagram. “This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services.”
The launch of Meta Verified comes after Musk’s Twitter relaunched its Twitter Blue subscription plan last fall — which now lets any paying customer receive a verified blue check-mark (along other subscriber-exclusive features like the ability to edit tweets). However, whereas Musk has said that Twitter eventually will phase out blue badges for accounts verified under the company’s previous ownership, Meta says it will not make any changes to Instagram and Facebook accounts that have already been verified based on previous requirements, such as “authenticity and notability.”
“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 announcing the new program. “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.”
The company said it will build a series of checks into Meta Verified “before, during and after someone applies” for an account — and said it will be proactively monitoring subscriptions for impersonation attempts, which plagued Twitter Blue’s initial relaunch. Meta said it is committed to “taking swift action against those who try to evade our systems.”
In addition to the blue check-mark, Meta Verified users will get enhanced visibility and reach on Instagram and Facebook — with “prominence in some areas of the platform” like search, comments and recommendations. Other benefits include exclusive stickers subscribers can use in Facebook and Instagram Stories and Facebook Reels, plus 100 Stars (Facebook’s virtual gifting currency) per month “so you can show your support for other creators” on Facebook.
To be eligible for Meta Verified, account owners must meet minimum activity requirements, such as prior posting history, and be at least 18 years old. Applicants also must submit a government ID that matches the profile name and photo of the Facebook or Instagram account they’re applying for.
From Variety US
