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Facebook And Instagram Users To Start Paying For Verification

BY Getrude Mathayo · February 20, 2023 02:02 pm

KEY POINTS

In November, the company announced 11,000 job losses as a result of over-investment during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time, Mr. Zuckerberg said he had predicted an increase in Meta's growth based on the rise it had over the pandemic, but that ultimately did not happen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Meta Verified will cost 1,500 shillings a month on the web, or 1,800 shillings for iPhone users. According to Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, the move will improve the security and authenticity of social media apps.

Facebook and Instagram users will soon need to pay to be verified on the social media platforms, as Meta follows in the footsteps of rival platform Twitter.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, announced in a Facebook post on Sunday, 19^th February that the service would first roll out in Australia and New Zealand later this week

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In a blog post, Meta said it would rely on government ID documents to prove the identity of verified accounts, to avoid the embarrassment of accounts impersonating people and brands as happened when Twitter initially rolled out its paid verification service.

Accounts must also have a posting history and users must be at least 18 years old. The service would not be available to businesses at this stage, Meta said.

The increased visibility of posts from verified users would “depend on a subscriber’s existing audience size and the topic of their posts”, the company said. Those with smaller audiences might see more of an impact.

The move comes after Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, implemented the premium Twitter Blue subscription in November 2022. Meta’s paid subscription service is not yet available for businesses, but any individual can pay for verification.

Badges or “blue ticks”- have been used as verification tools for high-profile accounts to signify their authenticity. The subscription would give paying users a blue badge, increased visibility of their posts, protection from impersonators, and easier access to customer service

Meta has not yet specified when the feature will be rolled out to other countries, although Mr. Zuckerberg said in a post it would be soon.

In November, the company announced 11,000 job losses as a result of over-investment during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time, Mr. Zuckerberg said he had predicted an increase in Meta’s growth based on the rise it had over the pandemic, but that ultimately did not happen.