Meta has introduced a paid verification check mark to its popular social media platforms Facebook and Instagram. As a part of this, Meta will be now charging the users of Facebook and Instagram for having a verified account. As announced by Meta, iOS users will have to pay $14.99 and Android and Web users will have to pay $11.99 for having a verified account and all the perks of having a verified account. Meta has announced many perks to its new service, which are kinda similar to what Elon Musk announced while announcing the Twitter Blue subscription service. Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg said that the service will provide users access to improved service from Meta. This will include dedicated customer support, impersonation protection, and push for their content on sections such as Instagram Explore page, etc. Zuckerberg also said that while purchasing the service, the user will have to provide any one of their Government IDs as an identity proof for impersonation protection. This service is now being tested in Australia and New Zealand and will soon be made available in other countries as well.
Twitter Blue was a complete mess when Elon Musk announced it after acquiring the company. It is still one of the most controversial online launches by any social media platform. Thus, it is baffling to see Meta follow the same steps despite witnessing the outrage shown by Twitter users. Facebook is already struggling with retaining its existing users as many have already moved to new social media platforms which provide them with a unique experience. On the other hand, Instagram is struggling with the growing popularity of TikTok in the US and other developed countries. Amid all these hurdles, it does seem like a wrong move from Meta to go for such a service, that too at such a high price. $14.99 for iOS users and $11.99 for others is even more expensive than Twitter Blue which was launched at a price tag of $11 for iOS/Android and $8 for web users.
It has been almost one and a half years since Zuckerberg announced the launch of Meta and other services such as Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp will now fall under it. This move intended to solidify Meta as a company that specializes in Metaverse. But it backfired for sure as Meta investors had little to no interest in the idea of Metaverse. But this was a move out of desperation as Facebook’s core business of targeted advertising was in jeopardy with Apple's announcement of its new data policies which prevented companies like Facebook and Google from collecting any user data. Now Google had its other services such as Android and Google services, which allowed the company to tackle any effects of this decision from Apple. But Facebook, whose only way of making a profit was through targeted advertising, had a significant impact, costing the company billions within just a year. Thus, one can understand the motives of Meta’s new paid verification tick. But seeing the reactions of users to this verification service, it seems this is going to be one of the most controversial decisions made by the company.
