Meta rolls out paid verification subscription in India. Will legacy Bluetick go? Zuckerberg says…

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has started rolling out its paid verification subscription in India. It can be bought after paying ₹699 on iOS and Android. Meta says it is planning to introduce a web purchase option for ₹599 a month in the coming months.

"We’re expanding our test of Meta Verified to India after seeing good results from our early testing in several countries globally," the tech giant said.

What is Meta Verified?

Meta Verified is a new subscription bundle that includes account verification with government ID, impersonation protections and account support.

This follows Elon Musk's Twitter which earlier rolled out Twitter Blue, a paid subscription at a monthly subscription of ₹900 for mobile, ₹650 for the website, which offered the coveted blue checkmark.

What will you get with the paid subscription?

1. A verified badge, confirming you’re the real you and that your account has been authenticated with a government ID. The checkmark is much sought for given it is often associated with notability.

2. More protection from impersonation with proactive account monitoring for impersonators who might target people with growing online audiences, the Facebook parent claims.

3. Help when you need it for common account issues. At the moment, support is available in English only, but Meta says it will be extended to include Hindi as well in future.

Will the blue tick on Instagram and Facebook be taken away?

When Twitter rolled out its Twitter Blue subscription that offered a verification badge, it removed all the other legacy blue tick marks. Although it restored it for a select group of users for free. (ALSO READ: Twitter is giving away free blue ticks to these accounts. Are you eligible?)

However, Meta has decided to keep verified badges that were granted previously based on existing criteria. “Any previously verified account will maintain its status on Instagram and Facebook for free,” CEO Zuckerberg said on his official Instagram broadcast channel.

Some key points about Meta Verification

1. Where available, some subscribers may be required to submit a selfie video as part of the authentication process.

2. The rollout began Wednesday, and will be available to all who meet the eligibility criteria over the next few weeks.

3. Businesses are not eligible to apply for Meta Verified at this time.

4. People interested in purchasing on the web can sign up for the waitlist through the Facebook web Account Center to be informed when web purchasing is available.