Paid Verification For Facebook, Instagram Starts Rolling Out In US
Meta is starting to roll out its paid verification for Facebook and Instagram users in the US.
On Friday, Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement over his Instagram channel. Interested users can sign up for the paid feature by going through a waitlist(Opens in a new window). Meta is also taking sign-ups through the Settings panel on Facebook or Instagram.
"Click ‘Accounts Center’, then ‘Meta Verified’. If it’s available for your account, you will see ‘Meta Verified available’ under your name and profile photo," the company said.
The so-called “Meta verified” program adds a blue checkmark on to a user's Facebook or Instagram account, indicating that the profile is legit. The blue badge was previously reserved for brands, celebrities and public figures, making it a status symbol(Opens in a new window) on social media. But now Meta is following Twitter and opening up the verification to all users, so long as they pay up.
On the down side, the blue checkmark isn’t exactly cheap. The company is charging $11.99 per month (or $143.88 per year) for users who sign up over the web.
Customers who subscribe over iOS or Android will have to pay even more at $14.99 per month, likely due to the Apple and Google app stores taking a commission.
The company adds: “To use Meta Verified on both Instagram and Facebook, you must subscribe on each app separately.” So it sounds like you might have to pay double if you want verification on both accounts.
Users must also submit a photo of their government ID to Meta and trust the company won’t mishandle the information. But after paying, the company says subscribers will enjoy additional perks, including “exclusive stickers on Facebook and Instagram Stories and Facebook Reels,”
Read more on pcmag.com
