Meta Verified Is A New Twitter Blue-Style Subscription Service

Meta Verified Is A New Twitter Blue-Style Subscription Service

Pay for the privilege.

On the newly-launched Instagram Broadcast Channel, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has just announced a new paid membership feature that functions similarly as Twitter’s Blue subscription. Much like it’s blue bird counterpart, the $11.99 ($14.99 for iOS) monthly payment gets you a blue badge, additional impersonation protection and direct access to customer support.

12 bucks a month to be verified on Facebook… I wonder if people will keep that same Twitter Blue outrage energy 😅 pic.twitter.com/ZPJsIHBerO

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) February 19, 2023

 

The feature will first roll out in Australia and New Zealand, and the plan will cover both Instagram and Facebook accounts. Not everyone is eligible though – Engadget was told by the company that only 18-years-old and up can subscribe, and as part of the verification process, a government ID will be required, which needs to match the profile name and photo of the account in question.

Once verified, information such as profile name, username, date-of-birth or photo can’t be changed, which should solve the impersonation issue that Twitter first faced as the company scrambles to make the feature work. Legacy verified accounts before today’s announcement will remain verified regardless.

Source: Engadget

Pokdepinion: Let’s just say I wouldn’t necessarily trust government IDs in the hands of a company that has a pretty terrible privacy track record.