Would you like a blue check on Facebook or Instagram? You'll have to pay for it. Tech giant Meta is launching its Meta Verified subscription in Israel, which provides a paid verification badge as part of the company's move to make the plan accessible in other markets.
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The subscription will be gradually rolled out on Instagram and Facebook, costing 45 shekels per month for subscribers via Meta's websites, and 55 shekels for those paying through the platforms' Android and iOS apps.
In any case, the plan will apply to the account itself, and the price difference is due to the fees charged by the app stores. If you want the badge on both Facebook and Instagram, you'll have to pay twice, as registration will be required separately for each platform. The option to pay for a verified subscription will gradually become available to all Israeli users in the coming months, according to the company's announcement.
Meta's target audience is content creators who want to build or bolster their communities on the company's platforms. In addition to the check, which is subject to a verification process that requires uploading proof of identification, it offers several other benefits.
Paying users will have access to live support if they need assistance and protection against impersonation through proactive monitoring by the company. They will also be granted unique tools such as exclusive stickers for stories and reels, and 100 "Stars" per month (the currency used to tip creators on Facebook) that they could award to other creators.
When the subscription was first revealed, it was said to provide increased exposure to paying users, but this feature is currently not included, according to details released by the company.
The subscription has been available in several markets in recent months, and according to Meta, it has received positive feedback from paying content creators, prompting further development based on community feedback. In the future, the company may offer additional benefits to subscribers.
Meta Verified is available only for users aged 18 and above and is currently not open for business accounts using the platforms. The company first announced that it was launching paid verification for subscribers in February, following a similar move by its competitor Twitter, which received significant criticism.
Recently, the competition between the two companies escalated when Meta launched Threads, a social networking platform directly competing with Twitter's microblogging focus.