Facebook and Instagram are continuing their rollout of a paid verification badge. Starting today, users in the United States can subscribe for the blue verification badge.

Last month, Meta officially released the paid feature, called Meta Verified, in Australia and New Zealand. The initial launch was also a testing ground for other countries. As such, the United States is getting a slightly modified version of the feature.

First of all, subscribers will still get the blue verification badge. Subscribers, however, must still submit a government ID to verify the authenticity of their account. They must also be 18 years old or older.

Secondly, the feature offers exclusive stickers for Facebook Reels and Instagram Stories. Users will also get 100 Stars per month to use for creators on the platforms.

Finally, subscribers will get better protection against identity theft and impersonation. Plus, they can get direct account support for any issues with their profiles.

Now, as for the differences, subscribers in the United States will not get visibility on their posts and comments. According to the company, Meta is still testing how valuable the feature actually is for users.

If you’re still interested in Meta Verified, the subscription will cost US$ 11.99 on desktop and US$ 14.99 on mobile.

SEE ALSO: Facebook might merge with Messenger again

Meta is following Twitter’s move. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced  Meta Verified on a Facebook post. It means the company will start charging to get a blue tick verification on both Facebook and Instagram.

The feature will initially be rolled out to Australia and New Zealand and will come to other countries soon. It will cost US$ 11.99 a month on web, and US$ 14.99 for iPhone users.

Zuckerberg said the feature is meant to “authenticity and security across our services”. The Blue Badge, he said, will give you “extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support.” You’ll only need a government ID to get verified.

Engadget, who spoke with a Meta representative, reports that once verified, users will be unable to change their profile name, username, date of birth or photo without going through the verification process again.

Additionally, accounts and pages that are already verified right now will get to keep their blue badge.

Twitter Blue

Twitter, now owned buy Elon Musk, was the first major, mainstream social networking platform to introduce a paid blue check. The service is called Twitter Blue and was first announced in June 2021.

It includes features like the ability to Edit tweets and tweet beyond the 280 character limit. Available in select countries, the monthly subscription usually costs US$ 4.99.

Meta has launched a series of informative webtoons to educate Filipino teens about data privacy.

The three webtoons, “Get Ready With Me!”, “From URL to IRL”, and “The Cat in the Alley”  were done in partnership with the Kabataang Digital Campaign of the National Privacy Commission, Child Rights Network.

They were created by advocates Janina Vela and Hannah Pangilinan. These are based on consultations from Filipino teens from diverse socio-economic backgrounds from all over the Philippines.

All three webtoons aim to promote child safeguarding standards. They should also help teens better control their social media experiences in a way that is supportive and encouraging.

Each webtoon series comprises of three episodes that are free to access on the Digital Tayo website in Filipino, Cebuano, and other languages.

In “Get Ready With Me!”, happy-go-lucky Katie learns about the importance online privacy. He also learns being mindful of what you share with which audience.

Meanwhile, “The Cat in the Alley” features Sal and Naomi. The two learn about boundaries and what a truly safe space looks like while working on a relationship with black rescue kitty Tuna.

Lastly, in “From the URL to IRL”, online gamer Josh learns the value of concealing personal information. This happens after a firm talk with his mom and with the help of his friends.

You can watch the livestream of the launch here. 

SEE ALSO: Getting verified on Facebook, Instagram is now a subscription