Yahoo Entertainment Meta Tests Verified Social Media Subscription in Canada
Prove your identity on Facebook or Instagram for a monthly fee
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Fact checked by Jerri Ledford
Meta's testing out a bundle deal for verification, offering Facebook or Instagram users in Canada the chance to try verified accounts (and their subsequent protections).
Verification for social media accounts—even for Meta—isn't a new concept, but now it's mixing things up with a test run of a new Meta Verified subscription in Canada. The new Meta Verified membership is already available in Australia, New Zealand, the US, and the UK and allows Facebook or Instagram users to verify their accounts with a paid membership. However, the verification requires a separate subscription for each account.
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What you get with this new service is largely what Meta has been offering with its Verified service in other countries: A badge for your account to confirm verification, more direct help, and impersonation protections. Meaning "proactive account monitoring" from Meta to catch impersonators in the act, as well as the option to talk to a human being if you run into any account problems.
Other verified exclusives like special stickers and 100 free Facebook starts per month are also part of the package.
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Signing up still requires proof of your identity via a government-issued ID, and a video selfie may also be required. New verified accounts will also need an established posting history (so no brand-new accounts), and users must be 18 or older. Though Meta has stated that none of this will impact accounts that are already verified—if they're already verified, they'll remain so (as long as they keep their subscriptions going).
The test run for these Meta Verified accounts in Canada is now open for individual users (no business accounts for now). A web-only subscription is currently priced at CAD 15.99 (approx. $12) per month or CAD 19.99 (approx. $15) per month for iOS and Android3.
Updated 06/03/2023: Corrected information throughout the story to indicate that a separate subscription fee must be paid for each Facebook and Instagram.
