Facebook to introduce a monthly fee for verified accounts, following in the footsteps of Twitter

UK users will have the opportunity to obtain a 'verified' blue tick on their accounts by paying a monthly fee.

On Tuesday, Facebook and Instagram introduced a paywall feature called "Meta Verified" in the UK. This move comes as Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, follows in the footsteps of Elon Musk's Twitter blue ticks to attract paying subscribers.

For a monthly fee of £9.99, users can obtain a blue tick verification badge on their profiles, along with additional security measures like two-factor authentication, which guards against hackers.

To access these features, users must submit a copy of a government-issued ID. Verified users will also be able to use exclusive stickers across Facebook, Reels, and Instagram Stories.

Users who own an iPhone and wish to pay for the new feature within the Instagram or Facebook app will be charged £11.99 per month, due to an additional fee imposed by Apple on purchases made through its App Store.

Meanwhile, Twitter recently revamped its blue tick system under Elon Musk's ownership. In the past, Twitter's blue ticks were only granted to users deemed notable by Twitter's staff. However, Elon Musk allowed anyone willing to pay $8 (£7) to purchase a blue tick.

Facebook's Meta announced its verified feature in March, shortly after the company announced that it was laying off 10,000 employees. These layoffs come after 11,000 job cuts were announced last November as Mark Zuckerberg's company faces challenges in realizing its metaverse vision.

News Source: The Telegraph