On Sunday, Facebook-parent Meta debuted Meta Verified, a subscription service that lets users add the blue check mark to their Instagram and Facebook accounts for up to $15 a month by verifying their identity, tapping a new income channel that Twitter has had mixed success with.
Starting this week in New Zealand and Australia, the subscription program costs $11.99 per month online or $14.99 on iOS. The company did not specify when its Android apps would sell the service. Meta lets users prove their identities with government-issued ID cards. The subscription service will also provide “increased exposure and reach,” protection against impersonation attacks, and direct customer support, the company said.
Zuckerberg said Meta Verified “is about improving authenticity and security across our services” on Facebook. He said “more countries shortly” would get the subscription service. When Meta answers our inquiries, we’ll update the story.
Meta, which hasn’t charged customers for most of its services for more than 15 years, has seen its revenues decline in recent years due to Apple’s iOS privacy changes that limit the social firm’s ability to monitor users’ internet activity. Last year, Zuckerberg’s company, which gets most of its money from advertising, said Apple’s move would cost it over $10 billion in 2022. Social media companies like subscription offerings.
Last year, Snap launched its own subscription service, which has turned over a million users into paid customers, and Elon Musk revamped Twitter Blue to add features like the blue check mark. Twitter Blue is now available in India and Indonesia. The Information reported 180,000 Twitter Blue identities as of mid-January.
Musk, a vocal critic of Facebook services, is betting on Twitter Blue as a revenue driver for Twitter, which he purchased last year for $44 billion.
Social media users desire the blue checkmark. It was designated for politicians, actors, musicians, athletes, and journalists.
Musk opposes it, saying the function should be available to all. He earlier stated that non-Twitter Blue subscribers will lose the blue tick mark. Zuckerberg did not say if Meta would re-do its complete verified library or offer a business subscription service.
Meta, whose shares have recovered in recent weeks, is also struggling after the market rejected its grand metaverse vision. After laying off 11,000 workers in two months, the business has pledged to cut metaverse spending. Another vacation round is rumored.
However, Meta appears to have discovered their own religion on efficiency/profitability, and investors now see a leaner, sharper company.”
