Paid blue check
Meta once again shows its ability to copy the most interesting details of other platforms, then transforming them into its own personal successes. It happened with Stories and Reels - respectively borrowed from Snapchat and TikTok -, and now it could also happen with Twitter Blue's paid verification function. According to developer Alessandro Paluzzi, some Instagram code snippets explicitly refer to a "paid blue badge" and a new subscription product. A detail that also appears in the latest build of the Facebook app, suggesting that paid account verification could arrive on all Meta platforms - assuming that the project is completed -.If Paluzzi's intuition were real, it wouldn't be the first time that the developer anticipates one of Instagram's novelties. Although this time the app's behavior is somewhat unusual: usually, when one of its new functions are revealed in preview, Meta always ends up confirming its veracity. But this time he chose to remain silent. Strange as it may seem, it is impossible not to reflect on the possibility that Meta also wants to launch the paid blue check option, thus re-proposing one of the innovations introduced on Twitter by Elon Musk.
In a screenshot shared with TechCrunch, Paluzzi showed a part of the code of the Instagram and Facebook apps in which the lines "IG_NME_PAID_BLUE_BADGE_IDV" and "FB_NME_PAID_BLUE_BADGE_IDV" are clearly visible. Ed suggested that, given the context, the abbreviation "IDV" could stand for identity verification. However, he was keen to point out that there is still nothing visible in the apps beyond these small references in the code, so for now we can only speculate on this feature. After all, the account verification system is perhaps one of the least appreciated by social media users.
Currently, the coveted blue check is only awarded to high-profile individuals, celebrities, brands or global entities. Smaller users and creators are left out, who have ended up fueling a shadow market in which blue checks can be bought illegally by anyone, as long as they are willing to pay thousands of dollars. It is clear, then, that the need for paid verification comes from the users themselves. And if Instagram was really thinking about introducing it, then there would be nothing wrong with it. Indeed, it would make users happy, and would solve many problems related to illegal blue checks.