This week, Meta’s new subscription service, in which users pay for verification, will be available in New Zealand and Australia for the first time.
‘Meta Verified’ launches in Aotearoa on Friday, after Twitter’s introduction of its paid-for Twitter Blue system in November 2022.
The service will be made available on Facebook and Instagram for NZ$23.99 per month on a desktop browser or NZ$29.99 per month on iOS and Android apps.
According to Meta, the service will “assist up-and-coming creators establish their presence and build community faster” by providing “greater visibility and reach” as well as added protection against impersonation.
It will also provide “access to a real person for typical account concerns” as well as “special features to express yourself in unique ways” when you need it.
Twitter Blue was halted shortly after its launch due to people paying to impersonate celebrities and big brands, but Meta believes it has a system of checks in place before and after someone applies for its new service to prevent impersonation attempts.
Those include Instagram and Facebook usernames having to match a government-supplied ID for a user to be granted verification, and their profile picture will have to include their face.
“This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services,” said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement announcing the service.
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It has not yet been stated when Meta Verified will launch in other countries, however, Zuckerberg claimed it will be coming “soon”.
When it launches in the United States, it will cost US$11.99 on the web and US$14.99 on iOS and Android, while it will cost AU$19.99 and AU$24.99 across the Tasman respectively.
Individuals will be able to use the service, not organizations or businesses.
Meta said in November that it would lose more than 11,000 employees, or 13% of its workers, as it doubled down on its risky metaverse bet amid a collapsing advertising market and decades-high inflation.
It was part of a wave of layoffs that also affected Twitter, Microsoft, and Snap Inc.
