Meta – The impending significant change Mark Zuckerberg made to Facebook and Instagram on Sunday has already infuriated many people.
The CEO of Meta reportedly stated that the business is considering a premium membership service that verifies Facebook and Instagram users.
The surprising Meta news surfaced just after Twitter said that it will start charging users for SMS two-factor verification.
The news
In his introduction, Zuckerberg said that the subscription service will be dubbed “Meta Verified.”
The cost per subscriber each month to use this service is $11.99
But, iOS users would need to fork up $14.99 each month.
Australia and New Zealand will get access to Meta Verified this week before other locations.
Meta Verified
More than just a high – end brand, Meta’s subscription service.
Also, it has benefits including a better defense against phony accounts.
Moreover, Meta Verified offers clients easy access to customer support.
The blue badge that subscribers receive allows for account verification.
Each person who wants to utilize the subscription must have a government-issued ID with a name and image that exactly match what is on their profile.
A user must also be at least 18 years old to subscribe to Meta Verified.
Statements
Mark Zuckerberg said this in a message posted to the Instagram broadcast feed:
“This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services.”
The unexpected information caught everyone off guard, but Meta clarified to put everyone at ease.
The social media behemoth claimed that the verified accounts, which were previously exclusively accessible to real, well-known people, will not be affected by the new subscription service.
“We are evolving the meaning of the blue badge to focus on authenticity so we can expand verification access to more people,” said a Meta spokesperson.
“We will display follower count in more places so people can distinguish which accounts are notable public figures among accounts that share the same name.”
A league of their own
Because that Meta Verified makes use of subscription services, it falls under the same classification as websites like:
- Discord
- YouTube
Twitter has generated the most heated discussions out of all the websites with its subscription service.
Twitter Blue
In December, Twitter Blue, a premium service for verification, was re-released by Elon Musk and Twitter.
The business had been utilizing the program up until a sudden inflow of fake “verified” accounts prompted them to cease.
Twitter has recently added new colors for a number of tick choices to make it simpler to distinguish between various accounts, including:
- Gold checks for companies
- Gray checks for government organizations and affiliates
- Blue checks for individuals, celebrities or non-celebrities
Users of Android and iOS may access Twitter by paying $11 per month for a Twitter Blue membership.
Elon Musk hoped to increase the company’s customer base when he paid $44 billion to buy it in late 2022.
Read also: Tesla union in uproar after employees were fired
Two-factor authentication
There was fury when Twitter revealed last week that it was looking into how it handled two-factor authentication.
SMS texts are a two-factor authentication mechanism that is exclusively accessible to Twitter Blue subscribers, according to the press release.
A survey by Twitter Account Security in 2021 found that only 2.6% of Twitter users have 2FA activated.
Around 74.4% of clients have so far selected SMS authentication.
Starting on March 20, users who don’t use Twitter Blue will have two more, free login options:
- A security key
- A mobile authentication app
On February 15, the revelation was made on Twitter in a blog post that read:
“Instead of only entering a password to log in, 2FA requires you to also enter a code or use a security key. This additional step helps make sure that you, and only you, can access your account.”
“While historically a popular form of 2FA, unfortunately we have seen phone-number based 2FA be used – and abused – by bad actors.”
“So starting today, we will no longer allow accounts to enroll in the text message/SMS method of 2FA unless they are Twitter Blue subscribers.”
“Non-Twitter Blue subscribers that are already enrolled will have 30 days to disable this method and enroll in another.”
“We encourage non-Twitter Blue subscribers to consider using an authentication app or security key method instead.”
“These methods require you to have a physical possession of the authentication method and are a great way to ensure your account is secure.”
Image source: Mashable
