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- Mark Zuckerberg announced a Facebook and Instagram paid subscription called Meta Verified.
- Meta Verified will cost $12 for web users or $15 on iOS and Android.
- It will launch next week in Australia and New Zealand and in more countries soon.
Mark Zuckerberg announced a new paid subscription service called Meta Verified that will give verified badges to paying users.
The Meta chief said Instagram and Facebook users could get a blue verification badge, extra protection from accounts impersonating them, and increased visibility by paying a monthly fee.
"Good morning! New product announcement: this week we're starting to roll out Meta Verified – a subscription service that 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 wrote.
He added: "This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services. Meta Verified starts at $11.99 / month on web or $14.99 / month on iOS. We'll be rolling out in Australia and New Zealand this week and more countries soon."
The company told Insider that creators who subscribe to Meta Verified will also get an "increased visibility and reach" in areas such as search and recommendations too. Meta will use a person's government ID to verify an account is held by a user, it said.
The official announcement comes after social media consultant Matt Navarra tweeted about a post on Instagram's help center page on Sunday which seemed to suggest the new feature would be launched soon. The post was seen by Insider before being taken down.
The help page post said that subscribers could get exclusive stickers for Instagram stories. It also said users who bought Meta Verified would not have it applied to their Facebook account as well. The help center page on eligibility, which has also been taken down, showed that users must be at least 18 to be eligible for a Meta Verified subscription.
Navarra told Insider it made sense for Meta to consider a paid verification plan. "The market has already been tested by rivals, the perks mostly already exist and don't require much engineering time to pull together for this new product, and it generates a new revenue stream at a time when most companies are facing challenging economic headwinds," he said.
Navarra, who has advised the UK government, added: "Snap with Snapchat+ and Twitter with Twitter Blue has opened up a new revenue stream for social media companies. But making verification available as a paid-for perk open to anyone quickly destroys a lot of its value and purpose."
In December Twitter introduced its premium subscription, Twitter Blue, for the second time since Elon Musk took control of the company.
The rollout of the service, which allows users to pay for verification, sparked a backlash and was temporarily paused in November after some users bought it so they could impersonate accounts of companies and politicians.