There are reports that the blue tick service is also likely to be introduced on the social sharing application Instagram in exchange for money. A developer has reportedly uncovered the presence of paid verification in Instagram’s source code which could allow users to receive the coveted ‘blue tick’ next to their name to indicate that they are a verified account.
This speculation emerged just a few months after Elon Musk purchased Twitter and introduced the ‘Twitter Blue’ verification feature offering similar benefits to users.
Additionally, due to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency requirement, companies like Meta have experienced a significant loss of advertising revenue, with an approximate hit of $10 billion last year, as per 9to5Mac. Instagram has also been transparent about recent shortcomings, Alessandro Paluzzi, a mobile developer, and reverse engineer, found code in the Instagram app that explicitly references the “paid blue badge,” alongside a new subscription model.
As shared by TechCrunch, the same references also appear in Facebook’s latest build, indicating that the subscription or the paid verification might be a wider product that would roll out across Meta-owned platforms. including the removal of the Instagram shopping feature and excessive promotion of videos through Instagram Reels, as acknowledged by chief Adam Mosseri.
Twitter currently charges a fee of $8 per month for its Blue subscription, which includes a verified badge, in the US, Canada, Australia, and a handful of other countries. If Instagram does indeed introduce a similar feature, it will allow users to have a blue mark on their profile by paying money, much like Twitter. Paluzzi has a track record of spotting new Instagram features before they launch, including features like in-app scheduling, and the ability to share posts, Reels, and locations through QR codes.
Regarding paid verification, Paluzzi shared in-app screenshots of the code he found with TechCrunch, and it contains code referencing “IG_NME_PAID_BLUE_BADGE_IDV” and “FB_NME_PAID_BLUE_BADGE_IDV.” Paluzzi also notes that other than the subtle code references, there is nothing else in the latest builds of Instagram and Facebook that might indicate an upcoming paid verification feature.
Currently, the blue badge is only given to high-profile individuals, celebrities, and global brands or entities, which has led to a multimillion-dollar market for verification through nefarious means. Twitter’s initial rollout of its paid verification system didn’t come without problems, most importantly, impersonation issues. It would be interesting to see how Instagram manages to roll out its paid verification and if users would want to pay for it.
At present blue tick is provided only to those personalities on Instagram who are well-known personalities in their fields and similarly the accounts of those organizations who share their information with the organization and are also known are declared verified. The news of Instagram providing blue ticks for money comes at a time when Twitter is ready to expand its service to other countries including Pakistan.
Techcrunch said that developers had seen the feature of providing a blue tick service on Instagram for quick money but the feature is not currently available on the application. The feature of offering blue tick service for money on Instagram is likely to take at least 6 months to introduce it. The monthly fee for this feature will likely be kept from $5 to $8.
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