Meta launches subscription service in US


FILE PHOTO: Meta Platforms Inc's logo is seen on a smartphone in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

(Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc on Friday launched its subscription service in the U.S., which would allow Facebook and Instagram users pay for verification in the same vein as Elon Musk-owned Twitter.

The Meta Verified service will give users a blue badge after they verify their accounts using a government ID and will cost $11.99 per month on the web or $14.99 a month on Apple's iOS system and Google-owned Android, Meta said in a statement.

The service, which Meta said it was testing in February, follows in the footsteps of Snap Inc-owned Snapchat as well as messaging app Telegram and marks the latest effort by a social media company to diversify its revenue away from advertising.

After a $44 billion buyout by Musk last year, Twitter had rolled out its Blue subscription service which lets people pay for the blue check mark previously limited to verified accounts of politicians, journalists and other public figures.

The initial launch of Twitter Blue in November had led to a surge in users impersonating celebrities and brands on the platform, which prompted the company to halt the service and reintroduce it with different colored checks for individuals, companies and governments.

(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

   

Next In Tech News

Amazon CEO denies full in-office mandate is 'backdoor layoff'
Musk now says it's 'pointless' to build a $25,000 Tesla for human drivers
Google defeats lawsuit over gift card fraud
Russian court fines Apple for not deleting two podcasts, RIA reports
GlobalFoundries forecasts upbeat Q4 results on strong demand from smartphone makers
Emerson sharpens automation focus with offer for rest of AspenTech in $15 billion deal
Palantir shares surge to record as AI boom powers forecast raise
Netflix under tax fraud investigation as offices in France and Netherlands raided
Singapore's Keppel to buy Japanese AI-ready data centre
Tesla increases wages for staff at German gigafactory by 4%

Others Also Read