Facebook parent Meta has launched a monthly subscription service, called Meta Verified, that will allow a person to earn the coveted blue checkmark on Instagram and Facebook by verifying their identity, tapping into a new revenue channel that has seen mixed success. for its smaller rival. Twitter.
Rolling out for the first time in New Zealand and Australia starting this week, the subscription service is priced at $11.99 per month on the web or $14.99 on Apple iOS. (The company did not say when it plans to make the service available for purchase through its Android apps.) Meta Verified will allow a user to verify her identity using her government-issued ID card. The subscription service will also offer enhanced protection against phishing and direct access to customer support, Meta said.
Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Facebook mail that Meta Verified “is about increasing authenticity and security across all of our services.” He said Meta Verified will be rolling out in “more countries soon” but gave no further details. We’ve asked Meta a few additional questions and will update the story when we hear back.
Sunday’s announcement comes months after Elon Musk revamped Twitter’s subscription service, Twitter Blue, to offer a range of additional features, including the blue check mark. Twitter has expanded Twitter Blue to more than a dozen markets in recent months, including India and Indonesia.
Musk is betting on turning the subscription service into a major revenue generator for Twitter, which he acquired last year for $44 billion, $13 billion of which he borrowed from banks. Musk needs to pay more than a billion dollars a year in interest payments.
Meta, whose shares have rallied in recent weeks, is also reeling from a harsh response from the markets to its large metaverse. The company, which has laid off some 11,000 employees in the past two months, has vowed to cut spending on metaverse ambitions. He is reportedly planning another round of layoffs, soon.
“The thing about religion is that it requires a leap of faith. Believing in something that you may never be able to conclusively prove. And there will be moments that will test that faith, moments that will make you question everything you previously accepted as fact. All drama aside, 2022 was a challenging year for believers in the House of Zuck, with many pushed to the brink or throwing in the towel culminating in the capitulation we saw last quarter,” Bernstein analysts wrote in a note this week. month.
“But it seems Meta has found its own religion in efficiency/profitability and investors are now finding a leaner, sharper company before them.”
