This Tuesday, Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri took to IG Reels to announce an upcoming feature for Meta users. Meta is the umbrella company of Instagram and Facebook and is constantly dropping new features to try to keep up with the mass exodus of their audience to TikTok.
According to Mosseri, Meta Verified is a “new subscription bundle that includes account verification with impersonation protections and access to increased visibility and support.” He said the goal is to make it easier for users, particularly influencers, to establish their presence so they can focus on building communities instead of constantly stressing about how to show up on Meta’s social platforms.
This package includes a badge that authenticates your account using your government ID, proactive account protection, access to account support—which has been a huge pain point for Instagram and Facebook users—as well as increased visibility and reach. Basically, the more you pay, the more likely your content will show up on the Explore feeds. It is currently being tested in Australia and New Zealand.
Mosseri noted that the two things he sees most often in comments is requests for verification and requests for customer service. He noted that Meta Verified is a direct result of this. So far, most commenters seem to be pretty disappointed that their future scrolling is likely to see an increase of essentially paid posts being pushed to them. Something most users have already complained about.
How Much is Meta Verified?
Meta Verified is available for a monthly fee of $11.99 on the web or $14.99 on iOS and Android.
What Does Meta Verified Include?
- A verified badge that confirms you are who you claim to be and the account has been authenticated with a government-issued ID.
- More protection from impersonation/hackers with proactive account monitoring for users who might target people growing an online audience.
- Access to a real customer service rep for help resolving common account issues. Note: With the addition of “common,” this still may not result in real assistance.
- Increased visibility and reach, particularly in specific areas of the platform like search, comments and recommendations.
- Other features coming soon.
It should be noted that Meta Verified will only support a user’s legal name on a profile, which is bad news for any artists out there trying to use their stage name. After a profile has been verified, the name, username, date of birth and photo cannot be changed without going through the entire process again.
