On February 19, 2023, Meta announced paid verification system called “Codename Meta Verified.” As per an official statement from Meta, the new subscription bundle will include account verification and direct access to increased visibility and support. Initially, the service will be available for users in Australia and New Zealand.
The founder and chairman of Meta, Mark Zuckerburg, through a social media post said “Good Morning and a new product announcement: This week we are starting to rollout Meta Verified.
It is a subscription service that will let users verify their account with a Government ID and a blue badge along with extra impersonation protection claiming to be you and direct access to customer support.
It will start at $11.99 per month on the web and $14.99 per month in iOS. We will be rolling out in Australia and New Zealand this week and many countries soon.” It converts to AUD 19.99 or NZD 23.99 for the Web and AUD 24.99 or NZD 29.99 for iOS and Android. The Account verification on Instagram and Facebook is subject to the authentication of the identity through a government issued ID.
The paid subscription includes many features such as a verified badge and protection from impersonators and access to a real person for account related issues, increased visibility and reach and many exclusive features that Meta may launch in the future.
Unlike Twitter, Facebook has assured that all verified accounts on Instagram and Facebook will see no change in the authenticity and notability. For those who are not aware, Elon Musk has announced that the legacy verified accounts will lose their verification badge and will have to subscribe to Twitter Blue.
There are new features available for Twitter Blue that legacy verified accounts do not have.
In order to get a verification badge , the user must have a prior posting history and above the age of 18.
The user is not eligible to meta verified badge if the users real name and photograph must match that of Government ID to initiate the process.
This implies that if the user is anonymous on Facebook and Instagram, he /she will not be eligible for getting the service.
Once subscribed, there can be no changes to username, date of birth, profile name and photo.
Meta further announced that the increased visibility will be dependent on the subscribers existing audience and post topics. Smaller accounts will see a notable change in reach. It will further provide exclusive stickers for subscribers on Facebook and Instagram Stories and Facebook Reels.
Furthermore, 100 free stars a month on Facebook will be provided that subscribers can use to show support to the creators. As of now, Businesses cannot apply for the service.
