A new paid verification feature was recently launched in Australia and New Zealand by Facebook and Instagram, which is their first social media venture to introduce paid features. This may create more opportunities for businesses to make their presence known online. Meta Verified is an online service that costs AUD 11.99 on the web and AUD 14.99 for iOS and Android users. With the application, after a valid government-issued ID has been provided, your profile is authenticated and you will receive a verified badge accordingly. This service promises to protect against identity fraud, provide direct consumer support and increased transparency. With this service, customers can be sure of the security of their personal data and the reliability of customer service. Meta is currently in the process of trialling this new service in certain test markets to compare performance. This could potentially be a great way for social media titan, boasting two billion users, to increase revenue.
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The Meta Verified service will be available on Facebook and Instagram, and users can start applying for the verified badge after providing their ID. Meta expects that the service will be available to 100% of users within the first week of the rollout. This latest offering by Meta has experts predicting that the verification service will be popular among creators, influencers and celebrities who rely on their social media presence to earn a living. These users often face technical and administrative challenges, which can lead to delays and lost revenue.
The Meta Verified service is aimed at increasing authenticity and security across Facebook and Instagram. The move is part of a broader effort to move toward a subscription-based service, in which more and more services and functionality will be paid or subscription-based. The new verification-subscription strategy is a risky move for Facebook and Instagram, and some commentators have expressed concern over the lacklustre results of a similar strategy attempted by Twitter just weeks ago.
Despite Meta’s ambitions, some ordinary users are less keen on the idea of paying for a service that was previously free. Many people see the trend moving toward more casual social media use and a shift away from the idea of “putting your whole life” on these platforms. Ainsley Jade, a social media user in Sydney, expressed skepticism about the idea, saying that she would not pay for the service and that most of her friends would laugh at it.
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Professor Jonathon Hutchinson, who focuses on online communication at the University of Sydney, believes that the VIP service could have numerous benefits for content creators. He sees it as part of a wider attempt by social media outlets to get users to pay for their services. He sees the functionality that users have now, such as joining groups or selling things on Marketplace, eventually becoming subscription-based services.
