Facebook and Instagram’s paid verification launches in the US

Meta’s paid verification system for Facebook and Instagram is now rolling out in the US, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Friday. First introduced in Australia and New Zealand in February, “Meta Verified” gets you benefits like a blue verification badge, proactive impersonation protections, and direct access to customer support. The subscription costs $11.99 per month on the web and $14.99 per month on mobile devices.

However, the US version of Meta Verified won’t get you increased visibility and reach like it does in Australia and New Zealand. “We heard feedback that how this piece of the offering worked was causing confusion, so we’re taking the time to further explore its value and learn before we consider expanding this component outside Australia and New Zealand,” Meta spokesperson Paige Cohen tells The Verge.

You can join the waitlist for Meta Verified at https://meta.com/verified. In addition to paying the fee, you’ll need to be 18 years or older, submit a photo of your ID to Meta, meet Meta’s minimum activity requirements, and have two-factor authentication enabled. Once you’re verified, you can’t change your username, profile name, date of birth, or photo unless you go through verification again.

With Meta Verified, the company is following in the steps of the relaunched Twitter Blue verification system rolled out under the direction of new owner Elon Musk. But unlike on Twitter, if you had a verification badge on Instagram or Facebook before the new Meta Verified system rolled out, nothing will change for you, according to Meta. That said, despite Musk’s promises to remove “legacy” verification badges, so far, they’re still around.

Correction March 17th, 12:26PM ET: Meta clarified that the US version of the Meta Verified subscription won’t include increased reach after we first published this story.