Meta announces verification subscription service for users of Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has unveiled a new paid subscription for its services that would, among other things, let users pay for verified accounts.

In a Sunday morning Facebook post, Meta’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mark Zuckerberg, introduced the “Meta Verified” service and stated that the goal of the move is to “increase authenticity and security across our services.”

According to ABC News, Zuckerberg noted that the service will cost subscribers who sign up using a web browser $11.99 or $14.99 if they did so through a Meta iOS app.

The news came at a time when other social media companies, including Telegram, Snapchat, and Twitter, introduced their own services with different features in an effort to reduce costs and boost income.

Meta released its third consecutive quarter of revenue declines this month and laid off 11,000 employees — 13% of its workforce — in November to become “a leaner and more efficient company,” Zuckerberg said.

In addition to a blue verification badge on profiles, Meta said the service would also offer “extra impersonation protection” for subscribers, direct access to a live support agent for account issues and increased reach and visibility on the platform.

Also, subscribers must be at least 18 years old, have a history of posting, and provide a government ID that matches their profile name and photo more efficient company,” Zuckerberg said.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, has previously announced plans to offer a service similar to Meta’s in the form of Twitter Blue, which will eventually give verified users’ tweets preference in searches and comments. The former Twitter verification system, which required users to be well-known, would be phased down, according to Musk.

However, as Twitter Blue’s deployment was getting underway, a flood of fake accounts caused the company to briefly take the verification tool offline.

A few weeks later, it was relaunched, with Twitter finally forbidding users from making changes to their profiles lest they risk losing their verification checks in an effort to root out impersonators. Users of Twitter Blue do not need to provide a government ID in order to get verified.

The Meta Verified subscription and verifications application procedure must be repeated for new subscribers in order to modify any profile information, including the photo, name, and username.

According to Meta, there won’t be any adjustments to Instagram and Facebook accounts that have already been verified in accordance with earlier criteria, such as authenticity and notability.

This week marks the start of the new service’s gradual test to “understand what’s most valuable” before to an international debut.

“We’ll be rolling out in Australia and New Zealand this week, and more countries soon,” Zuckerberg said.