Facebook and Instagram parent company, Meta has announced new monthly subscription plans for both apps which paywall verification blue checkmarks, offer protection against impersonation, and other perks. However, the monthly fee for plans cost $14.99 on iOS and $11.99 on the web.
Meta is following Twitter’s model to increase its revenue. After taking over as the company’s CEO, Elon Musk added a verification checkmark to Twitter Blue paid tier and jacked up its price drastically from $4 to $11 per month on iOS. But Twitter Blue is available for a cheaper $7 monthly subscription fee if purchased via the web and only costs more on iOS to offset the App Store in-app purchase commission.
Meta Verified costs more on iOS to offset the App Store’s 30% in-app purchase commission
Apple charges 15% or 30% commission for all in-app purchases made through App Store. The company says that the revenue is used to fund services and assistance offered to developers to improve their apps as per its guidelines and provide a safe and secure digital marketplace to customers.
However, developers criticize the “Apple tax” and argue that it makes them increase the prices of their digital products which impacts the customers.
As companies must adhere to Apple’s policies to keep their apps on over 2 billion active Apple devices, now they are offering alternatives to users to purchase digital services for a cheaper price through the web or higher price through App Store like Meta Verified.
CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg announced that the new plan will be available in New Zealand and Australia this week and will be available in other regions soon. Meta Verified includes verification with ID, blue checkmark, protection against account impersonation, and more.
Good morning and new product announcement: this week we’re starting to roll out Meta Verified — a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support. This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services. Meta Verified starts at $11.99 / month on web or $14.99 / month on iOS. We’ll be rolling out in Australia and New Zealand this week and more countries soon.
