After recording $13.7 billion loss in its Metaverse Division – Reality Labs, Meta is looking at increasing revenue through Facebook and Instagram. Meta has launched “Meta Verified”, a subscription service, that will allow users to add the coveted blue check to their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, said testing will begin in New Zealand and Australia this week. “This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services.” He added that public figures and others who were previously verified will not be affected by the change.
The latest feature is aimed at influencers and others who use social media for business, but aren’t notable public figures. Meta, for $11.99 per month on the web or $14.99 per month on Apple and Android operating systems, will use government identification to verify a user’s account and give the account a blue badge. Previously, the blue badges were free and reserved only for notable public figures and businesses.
This is somewhat similar to Twitter’s Blue subscription service which was launched in December. Elon Musk, Twitter owner, said the new verification system will be the great leveler and give power to the people. Zuckerberg highlighted that Meta wants to build a subscription offering that’s valuable to everyone, including creators, businesses and the community at large. “As part of this vision, we are evolving the meaning of the verified badge so we can expand excess to verification and more people can trust the accounts they interact with are authentic.
A Meta spokesperson assured users about impersonation protections. “In order to qualify, users must be at least 18 years old, meet minimum account activity requirements and submit a government ID that matches their profile name and photo. Subscriptions will also include proactive monitoring for account impersonation.”
