Summary: 

• Meta has launched a paid verification subscription service for users requiring a valid government ID, which gives access to blue verification badges, protection against impersonation, and direct access to customer support.
• The service costs $11.99 per month on the web and $14.99 on iOS and is currently available in Australia and New Zealand. b
• CEO Mark Zuckerberg claims that the new feature will increase authenticity and security on their platforms while covering the costs of providing the service.

Meta is rolling out a paid subscription service that lets users verify their account using a valid government ID. This service gives you the blue verification badge on Instagram and Facebook as well as other perks.

Paid verification seems to have become more mainstream since Elon Musk rolled it out for Twitter Blue subscribers. At the time, many kicked against it but it appears that it is now here to stay.

In an announcement on Sunday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that the paid verification service will be available in Australia and New Zealand this week before it gets to other countries.

“This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services,” Zuckerberg had said. ” Also, once you’ve verified your account with a government ID we can more effectively find and remove any imposter accounts since we know which account is the real you.”

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–Elon Musk Denies Twitter Boosting His Tweets.

Besides the verified badge you will also get extra protection against impersonation and direct access to customer support. The service costs $11.99 per month on web and $14.99 on iOS.

When pressed as to why these benefits are reserved for just paying users and not everyone using Meta’s social media platforms, the CEO confessed that it costs money to provide the service. He hopes that the fees will cover the cost.

Meta’s $11.99 pricing is significantly higher than Twitter Blue’s $8 subscription and as of now, the benefits are not on par with the microblogging site’s paid service offerings. Likely, Facebook and Instagram users may start getting more benefits for their money soon, although Zuckerberg did not give any hint of this.

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