by - Instagram may be planning a paid subscription service called Meta Verified.
- A post on the social media giant’s help center said users can get verified badges.
- It listed other subscription benefits, but the page was taken down after the Insider contacted Meta.
Instagram appears to be planning a new paid membership service called Meta Verified that would give users verified badges.
The social media giant said on its help center page that individuals and professional profiles can access its subscription benefits, including “representation monitoring”, comment prioritization and exclusive stickers for Instagram Stories.
social media consultant Matt Navarra tweeted about the post on Sunday and was seen by Insider before it was taken down.
He suggested that subscribers can get recommendations on Instagram’s Explore page and reels, as well as customer support for common issues.
A screenshot of the Instagram Help Center page in Meta Verified.
It’s unknown if or when Instagram plans to roll out the feature, but the post says users can gain access to Meta Verified benefits when they complete Instagram’s verification process.
He also said that users who purchased Meta Verified would not apply it to their Facebook account either. The eligibility help center page, which was also taken down, showed that users must be at least 18 years old to be eligible for a Meta Verified subscription.
Instagram said users must have a profile picture showing their face and validate a government ID to be eligible.
Navara told Insider that it made sense for Meta to consider a paid verification plan. “The market has been tested by rivals, the advantages mostly already exist and it doesn’t take a lot of engineering time to put this new product together, and it generates a new revenue stream at a time when most companies are facing challenging economic headwinds, ” he said.
—Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) February 19, 2023
Navarra, who advised the UK government, added: “Snap with Snapchat+ and Twitter with Twitter Blue have opened up a new revenue stream for social media companies. their value and purpose.”
In December, Twitter introduced its premium subscription, Twitter Blue, for the second time since Elon Musk took over the company.
The launch of the service, which allows users to pay for verification, drew backlash and was temporarily halted in November after some users bought it to impersonate accounts for businesses and politicians.
Meta did not immediately respond to an Insider request for comment made outside of normal business hours.
