While rumours started surfacing last week, Meta has confirmed that they are rolling out a paid subscription called Meta Verified for Facebook and Instagram. The new service will include a verified badge and access to account support.
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The new service was announced on Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg, as well as in a blog post outlining some of the details.
The company claims the new subscription service is aimed at creates who have been asking for verification and account support. Rolling out in Australia and New Zealand, those with a government ID will be able to sign up, and pay for, the new account service on Facebook and Instagram. In a nutshell, Meta Verified will get you:
- A verified badge, confirming you’re the real you and that your account has been authenticated with a government ID.
- More protection from impersonation with proactive account monitoring for impersonators who might target people with growing online audiences.
- Help when you need it with access to a real person for common account issues.
- Increased visibility and reach with prominence in some areas of the platform– like search, comments and recommendations.
- Exclusive features to express yourself in unique ways.
It won’t be a free-for-all like Twitter where anyone can get a blue checkmark by paying Not only does Meta Verified require an existing account with historical posting activity, but also a government ID that matches the profile photo on the account will need to be submitted. After approval, the subscriptions will be monitored for account impersonation.
Some of the terms and conditions Meta laid out include:
- Increased visibility may vary depending on a subscriber’s existing audience size and the topic of their posts. Subscribers with a smaller following may see a more noticeable impact to their reach since their audiences are smaller. All Meta Verified subscribers and their content must meet our Terms of Use and Community Guidelines. All content will be treated according to our existing guidelines for recommendations on Instagram or Facebook and our Content Guidelines.
- We’ll offer exclusive stickers on Facebook and Instagram Stories and Facebook Reels, and 100 free stars a month on Facebook so you can show your support for other creators.
- AUD 19.99 on web, AUD 24.99 on iOS and Android. NZD 23.99 on web, NZD 29.99 on iOS and Android.
- Businesses are not eligible to apply for Meta Verified at this time.
- At this time, Meta Verified will only support your real name on your profile. Once your profile is verified, you can’t change the profile name, username, date of birth, or photo on your profile without going through the Meta Verified subscription and verifications application process again.
It’s interesting that you must use your real name on your profile, I can see some content creators not wanting to do this for various reasons, including branding and safety. It’s also curious to see that business aren’t eligible for Meta Verified. In addition, the pricing seems pretty steep but if you are going to opt-in and sign up, I’d do it through the web as the company has obviously increased the fees on iOS and Android to make up for the cut Apple and Google take.
As mentioned above, the new service will be rolled out in a testing phase in Australia and New Zealand.
What do you think about Meta Verified? Are you going to be subscribing once it rolls out more widely or does this just feel like a money grab in the footsteps of Twitter? Let us know on social media by using the buttons below.
