The rumors were true: Facebook’s parent company Meta is preparing to launch a Twitter Blue-like subscription called Meta Verified. On Sunday morning, Mark Zuckerberg took to his newly launched streaming channel to share the news. He said the subscription service would give users a blue badge, additional protection against phishing and direct access to customer support. “This feature is about increasing authenticity and security across all of our services,” Zuckerberg said, adding that Meta would test the subscription first in Australia and New Zealand before rolling it out to other countries. Meta Verified will cost $15 per month when users sign up through the company’s iOS and Android apps. On the web, where app store fees are waived, the service will cost $12 per month. The subscription will cover Instagram and Facebook accounts.
Users will need to meet certain eligibility requirements before they can sign up for Meta Verified. Specifically, the company told Engadget that the subscription will only be available to users who are 18 or older. Meta will also require potential subscribers to share a government-issued ID that matches their name and profile photo on their Facebook or Instagram account. Once you are verified, you cannot change your profile name, username, date of birth, or photo without going through the verification process again. Accounts that were verified prior to today’s announcement due to high profile will remain verified.
In addition to benefits like a blue badge and increased search visibility, Meta will provide verified subscribers with 100 free stars, a digital currency they can use to tip creators on Facebook. The subscription also includes access to exclusive stickers to use in Stories and Reels. Rumors that Meta was preparing to test a paid verification service began to surface in early February when reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi discovered code referencing the “paid blue badge” and “identity verification.” In the early hours of Sunday, a social media consultant and former next website reporter matthew navarra discovered that Meta had posted an Instagram support page detailing the subscription, only to later delete it before Zuckerberg’s Instagram post.
All Engadget Recommended products are curated by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publication.
