(Reuters) -Meta Platforms on Sunday announced that it is testing a monthly subscription service, called Meta Verified, which will let users verify their accounts using a government ID and get a blue badge, as it looks to help content creators grow and build communities.
The subscription bundle for Instagram and Facebook, to be launched later this week, also includes extra protection against impersonation and will be priced starting at $11.99 per month on the web or $14.99 a month on Apple’s iOS system and Android.
Meta Verified will be rolled out in Australia and New Zealand this week, with gradual launches in other countries to follow.
Meta’s foray into subscription services follows Twitter, which announced last month that Twitter Blue will be priced at $11 per month.
The social media giant’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has earlier said it was planning to launch several new products that would “empower creators to be way more productive and creative,” while cautioning about the cost associated with supporting the technology for a large user base.
Other social media apps, like Snap Inc’s Snapchat and messaging app Telegram launched paid subscription services last year, as a new source of revenue.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru, editing by Deepa Babington and Nick Zieminski)
