Instagram and Facebook are to offer paid-for verification.
Their parent company Meta is gearing up to offer their Meta Verified scheme - which will set users back $11.99 a month on browsers and $14.99 on iOS - this week in select locations.
The CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg believes the move - which comes after rival Twitter launched Twitter Blue, a paid-for model - will give better security and authenticity on their social media apps.
Previously, verification was granted to people deemed notable in their field - whether it be media, politics or another high profile sector - as part of an attempt to tackle misinformation. Now, the package will give paying customers a blue badge, their posts increased visibility, impersonator protection and better access to customer helplines.
A spokesperson told BBC News it will not take away badges from existing verified accounts.
Other platforms - such as Reddit, YouTube and Discord - offer similar products amid a reckoning within the tech sector, which has been suffering due to dramatic dips in ad revenue.
Recently, Meta joined a whole host of tech companies in announcing large redundancies when they shared their plans to let go 11,000 people after expanding too aggressively following an uptick in profit during the height of the COVID-19pandemic, when people had more time to spend online due to social distancing measures.
At the time, the 38-year-old tech entrepreneur said: "Many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration. I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments."
He added: “I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.”
