The service was only available at the time of this writing in Australia and New Zealand.
For years, we've fact-checked claims about Facebook charging money for people to use the platform.
In February 2023, we got a question from Snopes readers asking if Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, was going to start charging users to have verified accounts. We found the claim to be true. The service had not yet launched in the U.S. but was available and being tested first in Australia and New Zealand. Regardless, people will still be able to simply use both Facebook and Instagram for free, in general.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in an Instagram update on Feb. 19 that the company would be launching Meta Verified, a subscription service focused on account verification.
Meta Verified costs $11.99 a month on the web (desktop computer) and $14.99 a month on iOS or Android.
According to a Meta news release, a company spokesperson directed us to when we reached out, the service includes a verified badge, proactive account protection, and increased visibility and reach.
In order to sign up for the subscription, users are required to submit a form of government ID that matches the account profile name and a photograph of the account they're applying for.
The spokesperson stressed Facebook and Instagram remain free to users, and that the company won't remove any features currently available for free, including account-security protections and scaled customer support.
The announcement came after Twitter launched its own subscription service, Twitter Blue, which offers a blue verification mark and two-factor authentication on the platform. (Two-factor authentication won't be available until late March 2023.)