Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced on Sunday that it will launch a “subscription service” payment that will allow users to authenticate their accounts on those social networks.

the same will have a cost of $11.99 per month, according to a statement published in the last few hours.

The formula, which Zuckerberg says will roll out first in Australia and New Zealand this week and more countries soon, resembles that implemented by tycoon Elon Musk on Twitter,with identity verification services and benefits such as “direct access to customer service”.

Musk had been heavily criticized at first, mainly due to identity theft that occurred by users who paid to impersonate brands and public figures.

As they explained, in the first instance it will not be available for companies, only for different types of individuals.

“Meta Verified is available for personal or professional profiles on Instagram that meet the requirements. At the moment, company profiles cannot request the subscription to Meta Verified, ”says the company.

Another detail that the company pointed out is that verification must be paid for each of the accounts. In other words, if an individual has an Instagram and a Facebook account, he must pay a verification for each one, even when they are linked.

What benefits will those who pay the 11 dollars for the blue check mark on Instagram have?

According to the information provided by the company in a statement, the subscription will include the following benefits for paying users:

A verified account badge

Customer service for the most common problems

Active monitoring of phishing

Priority for Meta Verified profiles in other people’s comments

Recommendations on the “Explore” page and in Instagram Reels

Exclusive stickers on Instagram Stories

Musk’s controversy with Twitter Blue

This week, Musk and Twitter had been at the center of a controversy over the controversial decision of enable two-step authentication via SMS only for those who pay for the service of Twitter Blue, a decision by the Tesla owner regarding continuing to monetize the services offered by the platform but advancing on security elements.

“Starting today we will no longer allow accounts to sign up for the SMS method of 2FA unless they are Twitter Blue subscribers”remarked the company through a statement.

This is a security factor that is key to preventing identity theft. Through 2FA via SMS, when a user wanted to log in with her account, received a security code by text message that allowed him access. From now on, to have this benefit you will have to pay for the Blue service. The measure will be available from March 23.

This is a new measure that Musk launched to make the microblogging company profitable. In recent weeks, he had announced that would remove the blue check mark from the accounts prior to their management,which was reserved for the media, politicians, journalists, athletes, actors and other figures of public conversation.