• by Colin Kirkland , October 23, 2023

Meta is pushing ahead with its paid-subscription offering via an Instagram feature that allows Meta Verified users to toggle their main feed and Reels feed to exclusively show posts from other paying subscribers.

“We’re exploring this as a new control for people and a way for businesses and creators to get discovered,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri wrote on his broadcast channel Monday.

For those included in the testing phase, the feature can be found when tapping the Instagram logo at the top of the page. Under the “Following” and “Favorites” tabs will be a third option, “Meta Verified.”

The Meta Verified subscription package offers paying users a verified blue checkmark on Facebook and Instagram, plus increased visibility and reach, access to dedicated account support and other exclusive features for a monthly cost of $11.99 or $14.99./p>

This update, if it is to be released (Mosseri gave no additional details related to the size of the test or the feature’s potential launch date) may increase the allure for users curious about paying the verification fee.

However, why someone would want to block out all other users from appearing in their feed does not appear obvious, aside from canceling out bots or fake accounts –– one of X’s main concerns regarding its own premium verification offering.<

Recently, Meta expanded its paid-verification option to brand accounts, too, charging $21.99 per month per Instagram and Facebook on the web, or $27.99 for mobile sign-ups. To verify business pages on both platforms, the cost is bundled at $34.99 per month.