Instagram and Facebook are ‘doing a Twitter’ and introducing a blue tick verification system, according to parent firm Meta.
The monthly fee for Meta Verified will be $11.99 (£9.96) for web users and $14.99 for iPhone users.
This week, it will be accessible in Australia and New Zealand.
The change, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, would increase trustworthiness and security on social media apps.
The action was taken after Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, launched the premium Twitter Blue membership in November 2022.
Businesses are not yet able to use Meta’s paid subscription service, but anyone can pay for verification.
High-profile accounts have been given badges, often known as “blue ticks,” to verify their legitimacy.
According to a post on Meta’s website, the subscription would grant paying users a blue badge, more visibility for their postings, protection from impersonators, and simpler access to customer care.
According to the firm, the change won’t effect accounts that have already been verified, but it will make some smaller users who utilise the paid function to become certified more visible.
Other social media networks have previously run into issues when allowing paying users access to a blue tick.
When people started using Twitter’s pay-for-verification feature to pose as well-known brands and celebrities and pay for the badge, the feature was halted in November of last year.
According to Meta, users’ Facebook and Instagram identities must match those on a government-issued ID document in order to receive verification, and they must have a profile picture with their face in it.
Like Reddit, YouTube, and Discord, other websites also adopt subscription-based business structures.
Although Mr. Zuckerberg stated in a post that it would happen “soon,” Meta has not yet defined when the feature will be made available in other nations.
A 11,000 people job loss was revealed by the corporation in November as a result of overinvesting during the Covid-19 epidemic.
Mr. Zuckerberg claimed at the time that he had anticipated an increase in Meta’s growth given on the spike it had over the pandemic, but that prediction ultimately did not materialise.
He added: “I too believed that this would be a permanent acceleration, therefore I decided to dramatically expand our investments.”
He said that instead, a “macroeconomic slump” and “increasing competition” were to blame for the lower-than-expected revenue.
He said at the time: “I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.”
