Meta Launches Paid Verification On Instagram and Facebook In U.S.

Meta Platforms Inc META has launched its Meta Verified subscription service on Instagram and Facebook in the U.S.

The verified service gives users a blue badge after they verify their accounts using a government ID, and costs $11.99 per month on the web or $14.99 a month on iOS and Android.

The company said that, upon subscribing to its latest service, users will become premium members and receive exclusive stickers on Facebook and Instagram. In addition, users will get 100 Stars a month to help them support their favorite creators.

Subscribers must be at least 18 years old and meet minimum account activity requirements.

Meta's verified service follows in the footsteps of Snapchat, which is owned by Snap Inc SNAP, and messaging app Telegram. 

The benefits of Meta' subscription service are divided into five categories: "Verification," "Exclusive Features," "Increased Visibility," "Proactive Account Protection" and "Direct Account Support." 

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Subscribers can secure their accounts with two-factor authentication and get more protection to ensure others can't impersonate them on Meta's platforms. 

After Meta announced its subscription service, Twitter CEO Elon Musk responded to a tweet from a user claiming Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had copied Twitter, saying it was "inevitable" that Meta would follow Twitter and charge for verified status via subscription services. 

Twitter's subscription service charges $8 per month for "Blue Verified" users on the web and $11/per month for users signing up via iOS device. However, the program has attracted significantly fewer subscribers than the billionaire might have anticipated.  As of mid-January 2023, approximately 180,000 people in the U.S. are paying for subscriptions to the microblogging site. This includes Twitter Blue subscribers. 

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