Facebook and Instagram users in the US will soon be able to buy blue checks on their accounts. Announced via a post, Meta said, “We are testing Meta Verified, a new subscription that includes account verification with impersonation and access protections for increased visibility and support. assist.”
The company plans to gradually roll out the paid option to more US users over the next few weeks.
meta first started testing Meta Verified in Australia and New Zealand in February. Meta Verified starts at USD 11.99 ( $989) a month on the web or $14.99 ( $1,237) a month on mobile. In addition to verification, the option offers perks like additional protection from impersonating accounts and direct access to customer support, CNN Business reported.
To avoid fake accounts, customers who want to receive the blue badge will need to provide a government ID that matches their name and profile picture. The age limit for Meta Verified is 18 and up.
“This new feature is intended to enhance the authenticity and security of our services,” Zuckerberg wrote in February on an Instagram broadcast.
Meta joins other platforms, like Discord, Reddit, and YouTube, which have their own subscription-based models. CNN Business reports that Twitter relaunched its own verification subscription service, Twitter Blue, in December, after it emerged that fake “verified” accounts forced it to withdraw the feature. Twitter Blue costs $11 a month for iOS and Android subscribers, part of owner Elon Musk’s push to upend the subscription business after buying the platform for $44 billion.
For Meta, the move offers the promise of a revenue stream other than advertising, at a time when its core ad-selling business is under pressure from a number of factors, including changes to about Apple’s privacy and tight budgets amid the economic downturn, CNN Business said Saturday.
(With input from ANI)
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