Published , by Morgan Shaver
Published , by Morgan Shaver
Not to be outdone by platforms like Twitter, Facebook (META) is launching its very own paid verification program in the US starting today called Meta Verified. As announced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, people can now sign up for Meta Verified in the US and get a fancy blue verification badge to display on their Facebook and Instagram pages in what Zuckerberg calls “proactive impersonation protection.”
Other perks to Meta Verified outside of impersonation protection include direct access to customer support, stars to use each month for things like tipping Facebook creators, and extra stickers for Stories and Reels. Interestingly, it’ll cost you more to become a Meta Verified member on mobile (iOS and Android) at $15 a month compared to the $12 a month cost when used via the web. According to outlets like Engadget, this is due to the cuts of in-app payments seen on mobile platforms.
Today’s US launch isn’t Meta’s first foray into paid verification as it previously rolled out the program in Australia and New Zealand last month. The version coming to the US is slightly different from the one seen in these regions, however, as it won’t increase user visibility across various areas of the Facebook and Instagram apps. At least, not yet.
Speaking with Engadget, a Meta spokesperson elaborated on this saying, “We heard feedback that how this piece of the offering worked was causing confusion, so we’re taking the time to further explore its value and learn before we consider expanding this component outside Australia and New Zealand.”
Meta Verified is different from services like Twitter Blue as it requires Facebook and Instagram users to provide a government ID that matches the name and photo on their account. Once the subscription is set up, Meta Verified users won’t be able to change their profile name, photo, username, or date of birth without having to go through the verification process again. Other eligibility requirements for Meta Verified include having two-factor authentication enabled and being over the age of 18.
If Twitter Blue and Meta Verified seem overly expensive and complex, don’t worry because Shacknews has you covered with its own paid checkmarks in the Shackpets app. For a single transaction of $8 you too can get a multitude of checkmarks via the Social Media Sticker Pack to add to your pet pics to show that not only are they cute, they’re also verified.
Now that you’re caught up on Meta Verified launching in the US, be sure to brush up on some of our previous Meta-related coverage including Meta announcing 10,000 additional layoffs in its restructuring plans, and Meta considering launching another social network to compete with Twitter.