Following Twitter’s move to paid verification, Instagram and Facebook have also begun to offer blue checkmarks for a price. Whereas in the past only celebrities, influencers and public figures received verification, now anyone can become verified if they’re willing to pay for it. On Instagram, you can now subscribe to the premium service Meta Verified in order to receive this feature among others. So, here is a guide to how much do Instagram blue checks cost and how you can get one.
See also: What Does The Moon Icon And Emoji Mean On Instagram?
How Much Do Instagram Blue Checks Cost?
To get a blue check as part of the premium subscription service, you can either sign up online or on the mobile app. If you access Instagram via the web, the verification will cost $11.99 a month, and if you sign up on the app, it will cost $14.99 a month.
Instagram currently relies on ad revenue for its income, but this subscription will open up a new revenue pathway. However, premium verification has not always been successful on other apps. Twitter’s Blue subscription service is known for how poorly it went over with users, since it caused confusion as paid customers were able to impersonate celebrities and other figures without being able to be distinguished from the real one. Since verification was originally introduced as a way to confirm one’s identity rather than as a status symbol, it can be difficult to monetize the feature.
However, Instagram’s new pay-to-verify feature does differ in one significant way from Twitter’s, which is that it won’t be exclusively pay-to-verify. In other words, public figures who have already been verified don’t have to worry about their checkmark being taken away.
What Is Meta Verified?
Apart from the blue check, a Meta Verified subscription will also supposedly get you additional protection from impersonation and direct access to customer support on Instagram. It will also include exclusive stickers to add to your stories and 100 free stars per month. You can sign up if you’re 18 or older, meet the minimum activity requirements, and submit a government ID that matches your profile’s name and picture. The feature cannot currently be used for businesses, although it may expand to do so in the future.
It has currently launched only in Australia and New Zealand, but depending on its success there, may eventually be rolled out to the rest of the world.
See also: Who Is Whisper On TikTok?