Instagram might soon have a feature similar to Twitter Blue.
Developer Alessandro Paluzzi revealed on his official Twitter account that Instagram's code contains a hint that it may have a paid verification feature in the future.
Meta has chosen not to comment on Paluzzi's discovery, leaving the possibility of Instagram getting a paid verification feature in the future up for debate.
Instagram Paid Verification Feature Details
Paluzzi said in his tweet that Meta may be working on a paid subscription plan that includes a verification feature similar to Twitter's Blue subscription service.
He also mentioned that there are only a few small references to the possible feature in the app's code. Although he mentioned he hasn't posted a screenshot that can confirm his assumption on Twitter, he did share screenshots of the code with Tech Crunch.
The screenshots revealed that Instagram's code contains lines that say: "IG_NME_PAID_BLUE_BADGE_IDV" and "FB_NME_PAID_BLUE_BADGE_IDV." The codes say "paid blue badge," which may be a probable reference for the blue checkmarks verified users on Instagram and Facebook get in the future, per Engadget.
Meanwhile, IDV is a known acronym for"Identity Verification."
Aside from the paid identity verification, Paluzzi also found a series of codes referencing a new type of subscription that may or may not be related to the paid verification feature. However, Paluzzi did note that the same references were also in one of the latest builds of the Facebook app.
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Paluzzi discovered many other unreleased features in the past, like a BeReal-like feature and in-app schedule on Instagram, meaning that his information may hold some credibility at the very least.
Paluzzi also regularly spotted codes for other internal prototype features like Instagram's Candid Challenges and features made in development with Twitter.
Interestingly, Meta and Instagram chose not to comment on Paluzzi's discovery despite their track record of confirming its smaller tests or prototypes when discovered.
Problems To Be Solved With Paid Verification
Instagram's verification system has been the subject of many a complaint in recent years due to its half-baked, complicated, and seemingly random nature due to its reliance on automation. Despite Instagram allowing users to request verification, the overall system in charge didn't change much, which comes in opposition to Instagram Adam Mosseri's promise that account verification would be the "focus of improvement" in 2020.
Regardless, the current blue verification badge Instagram provides is still only awarded to well-known individuals, celebrities, and global brands or entities, leading everyday users and smaller creators to pay large amounts of money to a multimillion-dollar shadow market to get the verification badge.
If Meta is truly adding a paid verification feature, it has to find a way to prevent the same impersonation problems Twitter experienced when it first released its new Twitter Blue subscription.
You may remember that Twitter CEO Elon Musk held off releasing Twitter Blue until he felt confident that the platform could stop impersonation issues.
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