Meta's paid verification program comes to the US

Image: Meta

Meta Verified, the company's paid verification program, goes live in the US. It costs USD 12 (around CAD 16) per month via the web or USD 15 (~CAD 20) on mobile to account for the in-app fees of both Apple and Google. Meta Verified brings features like a blue verification badge for both Facebook and Instagram, "proactive impersonation protection," and direct access to customer support. 

Meta is also giving stars each month (which you use to tip Facebook creators) and extra stickers for Stories and Reels. The US version of this feature won't gain increased visibility in some parts of the app yet. 

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Meta to kill off NFT support on Facebook, Instagram

Image: Meta

Meta is ending its support for NFTs on both Facebook and Instagram. The move comes less than a year since it pushed to adopt these "digital collectibles" across the platform. This update comes as the social network laid off thousands of workers and shuttered numerous projects. It wasn't elaborated on why Meta is reversing course on NFTs, but it hasn't been the only product or initiative that the company has shuttered.

“We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses,” Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s Head of Commerce and Financial Technologies wrote in an update shared on Twitter. “We learned a ton that we’ll be able to apply to products we’re continuing to build to support creators, people, and businesses on our apps, both today and in the metaverse.” In its place, the company would be focusing on “monetization opps for Reels” and “messaging payments across Meta.”

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This is how much Meta's paid account verification badges cost

Graphic: Muhammad Asyfaul/Unsplash

We learn a bit more about Meta's new subscription service for Instagram and Facebook. Emulating Twitter's Blue service, Meta Verified allows you to pay to get verified on the services. It starts at US$11.99 per month on the web or US$14.99. On top of the badges, Meta promises extra protection from impersonation accounts and direct access to customer support. There will also be access to exclusive features like stickers for Stories and Reels and 100 star tokens (Meta's digital currency) which you can use to tip creators on Facebook. 

To prevent fake accounts, you'll need to provide a government ID that matches your profile name and picture and you must be over 18 to be eligible. Meta clarified in a statement that existing verified accounts won't be affected as these users are "authentic and notable." 

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Meta is launching a paid verification service for Facebook, Instagram

Graphic: Dima Solomin/Unsplash

The rumours were true. Meta is planning to launch a Twitter Blue-like subscription service called Meta Verified. It'll be coming to both Facebook and Instagram. And it will give users features like a blue badge, additional impersonation protection, and direct access to customer support. Mark Zuckerberg said the feature is "about increasing authenticity and security across our services." Now, whether people will be willing to pay for that is a different question. Meta plans to introduce the feature in Australia and New Zealand first.

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