In February 2023, Meta announced the testing of a new subscription service for social media verification: Meta Verified. But what is it and is it worth the money?

Meta Verified is a monthly paid subscription to Meta for additional features on your Facebook and Instagram accounts, according to the announcement from the Meta Newsroom. The most notable Meta Verified feature is the blue verification badge you would get on your profiles after subscribing.

Additional features include:

• Account monitoring for impersonators.
• Live account customer support.
• Exclusive stickers on Stories and Reels.
• 100 Facebook Stars per month.

If Meta Verified sounds familiar, that is because its announcement came after the launch of Twitter Blue in late 2022. The key differences are in the additional features, which look to be better at preventing impersonation—which has been a problem for Twitter Blue.

Snapchat also launched a subscription service called Snapchat+ in 2022 and gained over a million subscribers, making Meta just the latest in the paid subscription game.

You will need to be at least 18 years old and upload a government-issued ID as part of subscribing to Meta Verified. Items like your name and birthday cannot be edited after subscribing.

Meta Verified costs $11.99 on the web and $14.99 on iOS and Android. The charge is a monthly recurring fee.

It also has localized pricing for the regions it is available in:

• AUD 19.99 on the web, AUD 24.99 on iOS and Android
• NZD 23.99 on the web, NZD 29.99 on iOS and Android.

The subscription first launched in Australia and New Zealand in February 2023, and then launched in the United States in March 2023. There is currently a waitlist for the service in all regions on the Meta website. Dates for other regions’ launches have not yet been announced.

The main benefit to users is the blue verification badge on Facebook and Instagram. Verification on social media has long been a status symbol, and this gives users an easy way to elevate their online presence.

Meta Verified originally included increased reach and visibility as a benefit, but removed it right before the US launch. Increased reach can mean that your posts get suggested to more users on their feeds or that your posts appear on others’ Explore Pages. This is helpful if you are looking to grow your audience or spread a message. Meta may choose to add this feature back in later.

Another key benefit is increased confidence when looking at other users on the platforms. If more people submit ID to get their blue verified checkmark, then you know that they are who they say they are and not a catfish.

The main drawback to Meta Verified is that it does not include many features compared to other social media subscriptions like Twitter Blue. For a similar cost, Meta Verified offers a lot less. There are still more features to be announced, so the service may become more comparable to others, but right now there is not much to it other than verification. That is a good feature for many users, but not everyone wants it. Meta will need to offer more to get casual users interested in subscribing.

Of course the features announced are subject to change, so whether Meta Verified is worth it for you could always change too. The answer is also different for different users. For example, if you don’t post Stories often or don’t use Facebook Stars, then Meta Verified is probably not for you.

However, if you want to give your audience piece of mind with verification, then it may be a worthwhile investment. US$12/month is less than many other popular subscriptions like certain streaming services, so it is not particularly expensive. And it includes both Facebook and Instagram which are two of the most widely used social media platforms.

Meta Verified will be especially worth it for small creators or online influencers who could really boost their social media trust through subscribing. For the average user however, it doesn’t offer much.

One thing is for sure: Meta Verified will change the way we use Facebook and Instagram. Whether you choose to buy in or not, the content you see will likely include content by other subscribers.