Instagram may be planning to offer a paid subscription model called 'Meta Verified'
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- Instagram could be planning a paid subscription service called Meta Verified.
- A post on the social media giant's help center said users could get verified badges.
- It listed other subscription benefits, but the page was taken down after Insider contacted Meta.
Instagram appears to be planning a new paid subscription service called Meta Verified that would give users verified badges.
The social media giant said on its help center page that individuals and professional profiles could access its subscription benefits including "impersonation monitoring", prioritization in comments, and exclusive stickers for Instagram stories.
Social media consultant Matt Navarra tweeted about the post on Sunday and it was seen by Insider before being taken down.
It suggested that subscribers may be able to get recommendations in the Instagram Explore page and reels as well as customer support for common issues.
It's not known if or when Instagram planned to launch the feature, but the post said users could gain access to Meta Verified benefits when they'd completed Instagram's verification process.
It also said users who bought Meta Verified would not have it applied to their Facebook account as well. The help center page on eligibility, which has also been taken down, showed that users must be at least 18 to be eligible for a Meta Verified subscription.
Instagram said users must have a profile picture showing their face and validate a government ID to be eligible.
Navara told Insider it made sense for Meta to consider a paid verification plan. "The market has already been tested by rivals, the perks mostly already exist and don't require much engineering time to pull together for this new product, and it generates a new revenue stream at a time when most companies are facing challenging economic headwinds," he said.
—Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) February 19, 2023
Navarra, who has advised the UK government, added: "Snap with Snapchat+ and Twitter with Twitter Blue has opened up a new revenue stream for social media companies. But making verification available as a paid-for perk open to anyone quickly destroys a lot of its value and purpose."
In December Twitter introduced its premium subscription, Twitter Blue, for the second time since Elon Musk took control of the company.
The rollout of the service, which allows users to pay for verification, sparked a backlash and was temporarily paused in November after some users bought it so they could impersonate accounts of companies and politicians.
Meta didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.