A new subscription service that would let Facebook and Instagram users pay for a verified account is currently being tested by Meta.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, revealed Meta Verified on his social media channels on Sunday.
According to him, testing will start this week in Australia and New Zealand and spread to other nations soon.
At $14.99 per month on Apple and Android operating systems or $11.99 on the web, Meta will use a user’s government identification to verify their account and provide them a blue badge.
Meta’s blue badges were traditionally given away to well-known individuals or organizations.
According to Meta, subscribers would also have additional security against account impersonation and direct access to customer care.
According to Zuckerberg’s letter, “this new feature is about strengthening authenticity and security across our services.”
According to Meta, the adjustment will not apply to verified individuals or public figures. Influencers and other social media users who run their businesses but aren’t well-known public figures are the target audience for Meta Verified.
By announcing a subscription service, Meta is following Twitter’s lead.
Twitter started charging users $8 a month for Twitter Blue, which validates accounts with a blue check, in the latter part of last year.
Twitter went one step further with the service on Saturday, revealing that users who don’t pay the $8 per month for Twitter Blue will no longer be able to safeguard their accounts with two-factor authentication.
Social media companies have been looking for alternative revenue streams as online advertising slows.
This month, despite increased users, Meta reported its third consecutive quarter of revenue decreases. In November, Meta announced that 11,000 employees, or 13% of the workforce, would be let go.
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