Facebook, Instagram Users to Pay $14.99 Per Month as Subscription Fees for Verification Badge

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new paid subscription service (Meta Verified) for Facebook and Instagram on Sunday, granting users a hallowed blue check verification badge for a monthly fee.

Facebook and Instagram users who sign up for Meta Verified will get a blue verification badge of $11.99 a month on web.

Meta Verified will cost $99 a month on web and $14.99 a month on iOS. It’s launching in Australia and New Zealand this week ahead of a wider rollout.

The Meta Verified Subscription “lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support,” Zuckerberg said.

The Facebook founder noted that providing direct access to customer support will cost “a significant amount of money,” which will be made up for with subscription revenue.

He also noted that the paid verification badge services will be rolling out in Australia and New Zealand this week and more countries soon.

Click To Read: Facebook, Tik Tok, Others Forced to Consider Child Safety, Mental Health –  California Lawmakers Pass Bill

The new option comes after Twitter launched a revamped version of its own paid service, Twitter Blue, which allows users to get a verified profile and other benefits.

Elon Musk rolled out Twitter Blue soon after closing his $44 billion deal to purchase the company last year. He said at the time that Twitter was seeing a “massive drop in revenue” due to an exodus of advertisers from the platform.

Facebook and Instagram are rolling out Meta Verified, a new paid subscription service that grants users a blue badge.

Meta has faced its problems over the past year and a half, with shares of the company’s stock down about 54% since its September 2021 high.