Meta announced its subscription plan, Meta Verified, earlier this week and now the social media company is rolling out to users in Australia and New Zealand. The company began rolling out around 6:30 p.m. Sydney time on Friday.
The subscription offers a verified label, improved reach, better protection against impersonation, access to customer support and exclusive stickers on Facebook and Instagram.
Users can view the benefits of the subscription and the procedure to become a member on this website. The company is slowly rolling out the plan, so many users may not immediately see the option to buy it.
Meta Verified is a paid subscription for individual and professional accounts that costs $11.99 per month on the web and $14.99 per month on iOS or Android.
Importantly, users will need to purchase separate plans for Instagram and Facebook, and currently you can only purchase the web plan for Facebook. So if you want to buy Meta Verified for both platforms, you have to spend $27 per month. For comparison, Netflix’s premium plan costs $19.99 per month and Spotify’s premium individual plan costs $9.99 per month. The company said it hopes to “offer an account linking option in the near future. That means the subscription could work for both services in the future.
To purchase a Meta Verified subscription, users must be over the age of 18, have a history of recent activity such as posting, and have a profile picture that matches the government-issued ID they provide as proof. At this time, Meta does not allow subscribers to change their profile name, username, date of birth, or profile photo without unsubscribing and reapplying.
In addition, the company is also changing the meaning of the blue tick on the platform. While it doesn’t uncheck notable profiles like Twitter, it changes its definition. Meta changed the checkmark’s description from “a tool to help people find the real accounts of public figures and brands” to “a tool to help people find the real accounts of people and brands.”
Earlier this week, the company told AapkaDost that in order to differentiate between high-profile profiles and Meta Verified subscribers, it will start showing the number of followers in more places.
“The blue badge will look the same as we develop the meaning of the badge to focus on authenticity,” it noted.