Facebook and Instagram Launch Paid Verification Checkmarks, Just Like Twitter

facebook verified badge

After all the slack that Twitter received for launching a paid verification checkmark service, Mark Zuckerberg’s now following suit with a similar offering for Facebook and Instagram.

On Sunday morning, Zuckerberg announced, “this week we’re starting to roll out Meta Verified — a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support.”

zuckerberg verification

According to the Meta head, the new feature is for “increasing authenticity and security across our services.” He then revealed the price will start at $11.99 AUD/NZD ($11.11 CAD/$10.09 CAD) per month on the web, but $14.99 AUD/NZD through iOS (reflecting Apple’s App Store commission).

Twitter Blue, the social network’s paid checkmark service, also is cheaper on the web versus iOS in-app subscription, to bypass the App Store tax. There’s also an annual option that works out to a cheaper price per month. Twitter Blue costs $10 CAD/month on the web or $15 CAD/month on iOS. The annual subscription is $105 CAD/year on the web.

With Twitter Blue, it was launched to help add revenue to the social network, while also cut down on spam accounts by making them pay for blue checkmarks, while also offering extra features for paying members. Government ID is not required to gain a verified blue checkmark, unlike Meta’s offering.

For those businesses and “influencers” that want blue checkmarks on Facebook and Instagram, it’s likely they will subscribe to this service, adding to Meta’s bottom line.

Meta Verified will first launch in Australia and New Zealand this week, with Zuckerberg saying the service will expand to “more countries soon.”

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