Meta To Launch Paid Subscription Services For Facebook And Instagram
Mark Zuckerberg announced on Instagram this weekend that Meta is currently testing a subscription service in which users of Instagram and Facebook can pay to get verified; similar to Twitter’s recent launch of its paid Twitter Blue services where users can pay for verification.
Meta will be releasing “Meta Verified” in Australia and New Zealand this week, in which users will have the option to pay either $11.99 a month for web service or $14.99 a month on iOS devices.
The service will also include extra protection from impersonation accounts and direct access to customer support services.
To avoid an increase in fake accounts, users who want the paid service will need to provide proof through a government ID which matches their profile name and picture; users must also be 18 to be eligible for the service.
“This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services.”
A Meta spokesperson also stated that there will be “no changes to accounts that are already verified,” as verification was previously given to users who are “authentic and notable.”
“We are evolving the meaning of the blue badge to focus on authenticity so we can expand verification access to more people. We will display the follower count in more places so people can distinguish which accounts are notable public figures among accounts that share the same name.”
Twitter recently launched its own version of this paid verification subscription service with Twitter Blue; launched in December.
This move came from Twitter after an influx in fake “verified” accounts began to take over the platform.
For Twitter, each checkmark is a different color to differentiate what type of account is verified: gold check marks for companies, gray for government entities and other government organizations, and blue for the average individual.
Twitter Blue currently costs $11 a month for iOS and Android users.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
