Meta Platforms has announced that it is testing a monthly subscription service called Meta Verified, which will allow users to verify their accounts with a government ID and receive a blue badge, with the goal of assisting content creators in growing and building communities.
The subscription bundle for Instagram and Facebook, which will be available later this week, will also include extra protection against impersonation and will cost $11.99 per month on the web or $14.99 per month on Apple’s iOS and Android.
Apple’s privacy changes in 2021, which limited Meta’s ability to track users’ internet activity, a key source of data for targeted ads, have hurt meta revenues. Meta estimated in February that the Apple change would cost it more than $10 billion in lost advertising revenue in 2022, or about 8% of its total revenue in 2021.
Meta Verified will be launched in Australia and New Zealand this week, with other countries following suit in stages.
Meta’s foray into subscription services comes on the heels of Twitter’s announcement that Twitter Blue will cost $11 per month. Other social media apps, such as Snap Inc.’s Snapchat and messaging app Telegram, launched paid subscription services as a new revenue source last year.