Mark Zuckerberg has announced a paid subscription called Goal Verified which awards users verified badges.
In addition to this label, it will also offer additional protection to prevent identity theft and greater visibility, paying a monthly fee, Zuckerberg points out on his Instagram account.
“Good morning! New Product Announcement: This week we started rolling out Goal Verified, a subscription service that allows you to verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra protection against phishing, and direct access to customer support,” Zuckerberg writes.
He adds: “This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across all of our services. Goal Verified starts at $11.99/month on web or $14.99 for iOS. The tool has been launched in Australia and New Zealand with more countries to follow soon.”
The company has confirmed Business Insider that creators who subscribe to Goal Verified they will also gain “greater visibility and reach” in areas like search and recommendations. Meta will use this ID to verify that a user has an account.
This announcement comes shortly after social media consultant Matt Navarra will tweet about a post on Instagram’s help center page that seemed to suggest that this feature was launching very soon.
The page, which has been withdrawn, also spoke of the possibility of get exclusive stickers for Instagram stories and that you had to be at least 18 years old to be able to purchase an Instagram subscription Goal Verified.
Navarra, who has spoken with Business Insiderpoints out that this strategy makes sense: “The market has already been tested by rivals, the advantages are mostly already there and it does not require a lot of engineering time to create this new product, and create a new source of income at a time when most businesses face challenging economic hurdles.”
In addition, Navarra, who has advised the UK government, adds: “Snap with Snapchat+ and Twitter with Twitter Blue have opened up a new revenue stream for social media companies. But making verification available as a paid benefit and open to anyone quickly destroys a great deal of its value and purpose“.
