The rumor had been talking about it for several months: the social networking giant Meta is launching a subscription formula with several exclusive features. Certification of Facebook and Instagram accounts will gradually become chargeable worldwide.
New benefits
At the head of the firm, Marc Zuckerberg announced the news on his Facebook account. “This week, we’re starting to roll out Meta Verified, a subscription service that lets you verify your account with government-issued ID, get a blue badge, get extra protection against spoofing identity, and have direct access to customer service”he admits.
With this new formula, users will be able to authenticate their account as was already the case before, certainly in small amounts, but for free. They will thus benefit from enhanced protection against identity theft thanks to active monitoring of the account by Meta services, human contact for problems encountered on the platform, as well as functionalities “exclusive” to share content. Finally, the algorithms will favor the exposure of subscriber accounts (posts, recommendations, searches).
From $12/month
Several prerequisites for subscribing to the service must be met. The user must be of legal age and active “minimum” in recent times. Finally, nicknames do not seem to be allowed at this stage; the account must therefore be in the name appearing on the identity document submitted to Meta. For the moment, Facebook and Instagram reserve their offer for individuals only, thus excluding companies.
Meta Verified should be offered starting at $11.99/month on the web and $14.99/month on iOS and Android. A price difference that would be justified by the commission charged by Google and Apple within their system.
This week, Meta will test its new offer in Australia and New Zealand before generalizing it “Soon” in the whole world. Content creators were asking for a broader verification service and better visibility, Meta said in a statement: “Since last year, we have been thinking about how to unlock access to these features through a paid offer.”
The birth of a new source of income is essential for Meta. The Menlo Park firm has indeed experienced a slowdown in its advertising turnover in 2022. Forced by global economic pressure and its shareholders, Meta laid off 13% of its workforce at the end of last year.