Meta, parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, announced today that it will roll out Meta Verified this week to a first set of countries.
Meta Verified is a subscription-based service that looks on first glance like a copy of Twitter Blue, Twitter's subscription-based service. On second glance, it becomes clear that Meta Verified offers a different set of features to subscribers than Twitter Blue.
Meta Verified is available for $11.99 per month or $14.99 per month on iOS, which is the same price that Twitter is charging. For the monthly fee, Meta users get a number of extra features in return.
The first difference between Meta Verify and Twitter Blue is that the former actually verifies accounts using government IDs. Not every Facebook user may like the idea of providing the data hungry company with even more information about themselves, but this verification process means that Meta Verified users are indeed the person they claim to be.
It remains to be seen how these verifications are carried out and whether the provided information will be used by the company in any form other than for the verification process.
Meta Verified users get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be them, according to Mark Zuckerberg, who announced the launch on Facebook. Once an account is verified, it is much easier for Facebook to detect imposter accounts and deal with them, according to Zuckerberg. The subscription includes proactive monitoring for account impersonation.
Zuckerberg makes it sound easy, but things may not be that easy, especially when users have common names.
The third feature gives Meta Verified users direct access to customer support. There is no further explanation on that, but it looks to be a priority support system of sorts that gives Meta Verified users better access to support staff. Organizations who operate official accounts on Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram could benefit the most from this, but there does not seem to be an option to verify an organization using the subscription service.
A newsroom post provides additional information and features. Meta Verified subscribers get "increased visibility and reach" as well "with prominence in some areas of the platform– like search, comments and recommendations".
Whether the features are enough to warrant the monthly price is for the individual Meta user to decide. Meta Verified rolls out in Australia and New Zealand this week, with more countries following later this year.
Closing Words
Meta Verified is the latest subscription-based service on the Internet. The number of Internet services and organizations that introduce subscription-based services is skyrocketing and there does not seem to be an end in sight.
Both Twitter and Meta services may be used without paying a monthly subscription, and that is likely not going to change anytime soon.
Meta Verified could be an option for Meta users who get impersonated a lot on the sites, as the subscription supposedly will help Meta take care of that better. Users who would like to expand their presence on Facebook or Instagram may also benefit from a verified badge, as it promises to give them more reach.
Now You: would you pay for Meta Verified?
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