Syed Imran Haider 
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, has reportedly begun offering a paid verification program in the UK. It will give social media users a blue tick for a monthly subscription fee starting from £9.99. Like Twitter Blue, the verification service needs the subscribers to be 18 years old and above and provide a government identity to meet the requirements.
Facebook and Instagram users based in Australia, New Zealand, and the US already have access to the paid verification service. The company will those individuals looking to subscribe to the Meta Verified feature send a notification once it becomes accessible to them in the coming weeks.
Meta will approve subscribers based on specific criteria and provide them with a verified badge. The paid verification service will comprise more protection for user accounts as it monitors their Facebook and Instagram accounts to check for fakes. Meta says verified users shall access the individual if they face any problems with their social media accounts.
Twitter VerificationÂ
Meta’s rollout for paid verification comes after Elon Musk announced the Twitter Blue verification in November last year. The service had swapped the previous system, which used blue ticks to verify high profiles. Later, Musk removed legacy verification ticks from Twitter accounts on 20 April. It reserved the verified blue badge for paid Twitter Blue subscribers who authenticated their contact numbers.
Musk’s decision to remove the Blue Verification Tick caused mass confusion because high-profile users lost their verification badges. Twitter also chose to reuse blue ticks for many celebrities, organizations, and governments for free.
Meta Verified Feature
Instagram and Facebook have a verification system for celebrities. The tech giant does not plan to scrap it anytime soon. You can apply for a Meta Verified account if you are a brand, celebrity, or public figure and meet the eligibility requirements. It is still vague to identify if adding a paid-for verification system to a changed direction for Instagram and Facebook will be a positive sign for the company.
Meta previously offered free verification features for these social media platforms in all circumstances because they were prominent. The tech giant and the Verified service widely rely on advertising revenue. The move to include a paid verification tier can increase prominence for Facebook and Instagram users to help them discover other options to monetize the platforms.
Comments with GIFs
Meta also announced new functionality for Instagram users, letting them comment on platform posts using GIFs. According to Adam Mosseri, the company head, the new feature will enable users to use Giphy GIFs to respond to a post.
Mosseri says Instagram has also begun experimenting with lyrics in Reels. The new feature will help build on the auto-caption sticker unveiled in 2021. He judged from the screenshot, saying the timeline given at the bottom of the screen will allow users to sync the captions. Perhaps, it indicates Instagram will soon get around to creating a dedicated iPad app.
