Today, Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook to announce that Meta Verified will begin rolling out this coming week, which is a subscription service with a similar offering to that of Twitter Blue. The service, which was previously rumoured following code additions to the Instagram app, will begin rolling out in Australia and New Zealand with more countries to follow in the future.
The core features of the product, which starts at $11.99 USD a month on the web, or $14.99 USD a month on iOS, include the ability to verify your account with a government ID allowing for Meta to more effectively find and remove any imposter accounts. It also grants a blue badge that displays alongside your name, and direct access to customer support.
There are a few additional benefits that will be granted to subscribers to the service, including access to exclusive stickers for use in Stories and Reels, and will also receive 100 free stars per month, which is Meta"s digital currency for tipping creators.
It does sound like Meta is taking impersonation a lot more seriously than Twitter did when it relaunched the Blue subscription plan late last year, however, this method does mean that businesses cannot apply for the verified badge yet. Additionally, if you want to change your profile name, username, birthday, or profile photo once you have been verified, you will need to go through the verification process again from the start.