Meta introduces paid subscription service for Facebook and Instagram
This past weekend, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta is introducing paid verification for Facebook and Instagram. The Meta CEO disclosed in posts on each platform on Sunday that the Meta Verified subscription service will cost $11.99 on the web or $14.99 on mobile and on Apple’s iOS operating system and on Android per month.
The service is largely geared toward content producers, who will benefit from improved visibility and reach at a time when it’s more difficult to stand out on Meta’s platforms. Meta Verified will roll out first in Australia and New Zealand.
With Meta Verified, you may “verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get further impersonation protection against accounts pretending to be you, and have direct access to customer support,” according to Zuckerberg.
He continued, “This new functionality is about enhancing authenticity and security across all of our services. This weekend, the service will debut in Australia and New Zealand before expanding to additional nations. According to Meta, accounts validated in accordance with its earlier criteria, such as authenticity and notability, won’t be changed.
Apple’s 2021 privacy changes, which limited its capacity to follow users’ internet activities, a crucial source of information for targeted advertisements, have had a significant negative impact on its revenue. In February of last year, Meta estimated that the Apple shift would cost it more than $10 billion in lost ad revenue for 2022, or around 8% of its overall revenue in 2021.
Major cost-cutting measures have been implemented by Meta, including the announcement of its largest workforce cutbacks (11,000 individuals, or 13% of staff).
In the wake of Elon Musk’s disastrous takeover of the social network, Twitter introduced the Twitter Blue service in December. Meta Verified is similar to that service. Trolls utilized that service to imitate businesses and celebrities, which caused problems for drugmaker Eli Lilly and others. It had to be suspended then reintroduced with certain changes.
Users will be able to verify their accounts with a government ID thanks to Meta Verified, according to Zuckerberg. An insider from the business confirmed that subscriptions would include monitoring for account impersonation and that account authentication would require a government ID.
They continued by saying that Meta Verified users would also have access to additional services “to boost visibility and reach,” like prominence in search results and recommendation functionality.
Late last year, messaging company Snap unveiled Snapchat Plus, a subscription service that costs $3.99 a month and grants users exclusive access to new features including extended story expiration and personalized notification noises.
In what he called a “year of efficiency” for the social media company, which controls Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Zuckerberg outlined intentions to further keep Meta’s expenditures under control. This was done during Meta’s annual earnings report this month.
Meta added that verified Facebook and Instagram profiles will remain the same and that only people who are at least 18 years old would be permitted to subscribe. Businesses are not yet able to use the service.
