Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on 19 February that users of Instagram and Facebook will be able to pay for a verified blue tick.
The announcement comes about three months after Twitter owner Elon Musk implemented the Twitter Blue subscription system.
However, Musk’s initial launch of the Twitter subscription service backfired, as many fake accounts impersonating businesses proliferated. The service was paused and relaunched later to a muted reception.
How is Meta implementing paid subscriptions for Facebook, Instagram?
In a statement posted to Facebook and Instagram Stories, Zuckerberg wrote, “This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services.”
According to a statement on its official site, Meta Verified will cost USD 11.99 a month on the web and USD 14.99 for iPhone and Android users.
The subscription bundle will include a verified blue tick badge on Instagram and Facebook. It will be authenticated with a government ID. Meta said that the subscription package will offer “proactive account protection, access to account support, and increased visibility and reach.”
Meta said that they “hope” to bring the service to users in other countries “soon.”
Testing will be carried out starting this week in Australia and New Zealand.
Will there be any change to existing verified profiles?
The company assured that there will be no changes to already verified accounts on Instagram and Facebook.
“Long term, we want to build a subscription offering that’s valuable to everyone, including creators, businesses and our community at large. 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 said in its statement.
Interestingly, the Facebook homepage had for years displayed the slogan “free and always will be.” The slogan was dropped in 2019 as experts said that there was nothing “free” about the service since it collected users’ personal data for personalised ads.
(Main and Featured images: Timothy Hales Bennett/Unsplash)
Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
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