Meta chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg / Photo credit: Meta
Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Facebook will be rolling out Meta Verified, a new subscription service that offers users increased security and authenticity measures as well as a blue checkmark on its platform.
Subscribers of Meta Verified will also have direct access to customer support for their inquiries.
The subscription service is priced at US$11.99 per month for Facebook’s web version and US$14.99 per month on iOS. It will first roll out in Australia and New Zealand this week, with plans for expansion to other countries soon.
As to why the feature isn’t already part of Facebook’s core offerings, Zuckerberg said that verifying government IDs for its billions of users will cost “a significant amount of money” for the company.
“Subscription fees will cover this and will also pace how many people sign up so we’ll be able to ensure quality as we scale,” he added.
Meta’s revenue has continued sliding despite reporting Facebook’s milestone of 2 billion users earlier this month. This move seems to be in line with Zuckerberg’s efforts to make 2023 the “Year of Efficiency.”
The subscription service is similar to that of Twitter Blue, which the Elon Musk-led firm introduced in June last year. The feature costs US$8 per month for web and US$11 per month on mobile.
See also: Behind the metaverse real estate rush
Editing by Thu Huong Le and Lorenzo Kyle Subido
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