One Month Review of a Facebook Meta Verified Account
When Facebook decided to introduce paid verified accounts, following Twitter’s lead, I decided to give it a try. This seemed prudent, given the name verification issues I had with Facebook some years ago. Since my Meta verification just renewed for a second month, I thought this would be a good time to review Meta Verified and my experiences with it after my first month of usage. Before we get to that, lets define what a Meta Verified Account on Facebook is through a comprehensive guide on the subject.
What is a Meta Verified Facebook Account?
A Meta Verified Facebook account is part of the Meta Verified subscription bundle offered by Meta Platforms, the company previously known as Facebook. This subscription service is designed to help users establish their presence on Facebook.
Key Features
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Verification: Users receive a verified badge that lets their community know it’s truly them. This verification process involves using a government ID and, where available, a selfie video to securely establish the account’s authenticity1.
- Proactive account protection: Subscribers get protection from impersonation attempts with proactive account monitoring. They are also required to set up two-factor authentication for additional security.
- Exclusive features: Subscribers gain access to exclusive stickers on Facebook and Facebook Reels. They also get 100 Stars a month on Facebook, which they can use to show their support for other creators.
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Direct account support: If users encounter common account issues, they can receive assistance from a real person, providing a more personalized support experience.
- Select a profile: Once logged into Facebook, go to ‘Settings’ on Facebook. Click ‘Accounts Center’, then ‘Meta Verified’. If it’s available for your account, you will see ‘Meta Verified available’ under your name and profile photo.
- Set up payment: Select your preferred payment method for your monthly payment. Meta verified cost is $14.99 USD/month on iOS/Android or $11.99 USD/month on the web (Facebook only).
- Verify identity: Complete the verification process and provide a government-issued photo ID and where available a selfie video to confirm your identity before being approved for a Meta Verified subscription.
Review of a Meta Verified Subscription
After using for a Meta Verified Badge for one month, I can honestly say there are good points, bad points, and vast room for improvement.
I had five pre-existing issues with Facebook when I signed up for a Meta Verified account that I wanted addressed through Meta Support:
1. Peace of mind regarding my identity.
2. I wanted the full suite of Facebook Admin Assist tools for a select number of my Facebook groups that I was the admin of that currently did not have them. Some groups didn’t even have the ability to stop Links in Comments from occurring. I wanted the full Admin Assist suite to battle that and other frequently happening moderation issues.
I figured becoming verified was a quick why to talk to someone on the inside with group-level access that could quickly assist me. On the Meta Verified account page, it says under the four attributes for a Meta Verified Badge:
Direct account support
Get help when you need it from a real person on common account issues that matter to you.
When I read this, I thought “This is exactly what I need.” None of Facebook employees in the Facebook Community Learning Labs group could help me with getting the full suite of Facebook Admin Assist tools for some of my groups, even-though other admins in the group were asking for the same thing.
3. One of my groups was disabled, a group that I needed the full suite of Admin Assist tools for, and I wanted it re-enabled. The Facebook on-screen prompt said the group would be restricted for two days because of commenting issues and then it would be back. When I didn’t regain access after two days, I grew concerned. I have put many hours of work into this group, it has 15 thousand members, and I want it back online. I needed to speak to someone about that, getting the full suite of Admin Assist tools installed in the group, and about cleaning the riffraff out of the group.
4. I changed the name, top group image, and description of a group that was started in 2019. Facebook took that group down after those changes were made and a new group I start that day as well. Both were movie and TV related. I wanted to speak to someone in Facebook about what I had done wrong and to be given the opportunity to correct any mistakes.
5. I wanted to changed to the page type of one of my Facebook Pages from an individual’s page, in this case “Journalist”, to a company page. Again, the admin and other group members in the Facebook Community Learning Labs group were not able to assist me with this.
The Good
Signing up for Meta Verified with a credit card took less than five minutes. It was an easy and smooth process.
As a Meta Verified subscriber, you get the option to chat with Facebook support personnel via Facebook Chat. They try to assist you and if they can’t, they send you an email through someone with an escalated support position in Meta to assist you. The Meta support service personnel with look up whatever problem that you are having, and send you back information on the problem, with or without hyperlinks to further assist you.
Of the five issues I had when I signed up for a Meta Verified account through Facebook, I did receive limited peace of mind (Issue 1). Also, after lodging my full Suite of Admin Assist request with Meta Verified Support, all of the groups that I had listed received more tools (Issue 2). Not all of the tools in some cases, but some. This Admin Assist upgrade could have been mere happenstance, however, since a Facebook employee in the Facebook Community Learning Labs group could have read my post asking for these tools, got my request in front of the right internal people, and they took action.
The latter is what I believe happened (or it was mere happenstance).
I don’t believe Meta Verified support was behind the influx of needed Admin Assist tools. The ‘why’ I believe this is discussed below in the next section, The Bad.
The Bad
I quickly learned through Meta Verified Facebook Chat and email with Meta Support that no one in their division has group-level or page-level access. Other Facebook departments do, they don’t.
When I say group-level access, I am referring to the ability to type in a Facebook account holder’s name or URL, see all of the groups he or she has created, be able to select any of the groups for an examination of group activities, and be able to correct any misplaced community violations.
When I say page-level access, I am referring to the ability to type in a Facebook account holder’s name, see all of the pages he or she has created, be able to select any of the pages for an examination of page activities, and be able to change the page type at will.
This level of access exists at Facebook. Members of the Meta Verified Support team do not have it. They can not even tell you which groups are yours and which aren’t. They can’t see that type of direct account information.
On Meta’s verified account page, it says under the four attributes for a Meta Verified Badge, Direct Account Support. That is not true. Meta Verified does not offer group-level account support or page-level account support. Instead, what they do offer is direct account support for your Meta Verified Account.
Look for yourself. I began receiving these cut and paste responses from the Meta Verified support team:
“We would like to set your expectations that Meta Support can fully assist concerns regarding Monetization and about Meta Verification subscription concerns.”
and
“Our expertise for the Creators queue is anything pertaining to your well-being such as reporting any impersonation/bullying/harassment issues you are experiencing.”
and
“We can also assist with payout status and discrepancies. Anything outside of this scope we will be more than happy to assist you to the best of our abilities or point you in the right direction.”
Even when I told them that I was in a high-touch customer service position, like them, for my day job and that they didn’t have to keep telling me what their work did and didn’t pertain to, they persisted (with the same canned responses), over and over again.
I knew what team within Facebook has group and page-level access. I specifically asked Meta Support to speak with someone in that operations department or an Escalations Specialist within that Facebook unit.
The Meta Verified support team wouldn’t respond to my direct request or even acknowledge it. This is how they responded (an example):
Hi [redacted],
I hope this email finds you well! This is [redacted] following up on Case ID: [redacted].
I can understand how important it is for you to settle this as soon as possible, and we always strive to do our best to help you out with this matter.
I certainly understand the inconvenience this has brought upon you and I genuinely do wish there was another avenue for us to take at this time. I appreciate you letting me know about your negative experience. We strive to ensure that every customer is satisfied in doing business with us, and I apologize for any way in which we may have inconvenienced you.
Your satisfaction is our happiness! Thanks for your contacting Meta Support. Have a nice day!
Regards,
[redacted]
Meta Support
I started receiving that response, or some version of it, repeatedly.
After a few of these emails in succession, I stopped seeking Meta Support’s assistance.
It was ironic because soon after that, a nightmare situation occurred with a large number of my Facebook groups, a Facebook glitch, and false Community Violations notifications.
I didn’t even bother reaching out to Meta Support for assistance this time, even with this critical and on-going situation.
It would be pointless.
Improvements
As I said in the previous section of this review, I work in customer service where my “clients” make support requests of me on a daily basis. If I ever avoided answering their direct questions, obfuscated, or gave a pre-written response that had nothing to do with the question asked, I would first get taken aside by my immediate supervisor and he would correct me in a professional way. If it happened after that, repeatedly, I might get another side meeting. If it happened after that, I would most-likely be terminated. The institution that I work for would not tolerate that type of disrespect to its internal or external stakeholders. They pay me to give great customer service and to solve problems via email or in-person. That is what I do.
The people in Meta Support, I don’t know how they were trained but it wasn’t like I was trained. My goal and my department’s goal is to always send the customer away happy and satisfied. When a future problem arises, we want our previous “clients” to be happy to come to us again because they know what they are going to get – another great customer service experience. Apple does that. Amazon does that. Meta Support doesn’t do that.
The Improvements I would suggest to Meta Support for Facebook:
- Acquire group-level access and Page-level access for Facebook account holders. This way when a customer, who also happens to be the admin of a Facebook group or page, contacts you with a problem about their group or page, you can look at that specific group or page and help them with their specific problem.
- Do not give pre-written responses to Facebook account holders (a.k.a. external stakeholders). You don’t know if one of your colleagues has already cut, pasted, and sent that very same pre-written response to the customer. When you do it (after one of your colleagues has already done it), it makes you and your department look terrible.
- Change the Meta Verified page description under “Direct account support” so that people know they will not receive direct group or page support, only Meta Verified account support, when they sign up for a Meta Verified Badge. The current wording is misleading.
Meta Verified for Facebook Key Takeaways
- Getting a verified account with Facebook does not bestow upon Facebook admins the type and level of support they hope for, want, and need.
- Facebook Group admins still have no one to talk to or communicate with in Facebook with group-level access regarding the communities they’ve created.
- Meta Verified is a subscription bundle that provides verification with a government ID, proactive account protection, access to direct account support, and more.
- The subscription costs $14.99 USD/month on iOS/Android or $11.99 USD/month on the web (Facebook only).
- Meta Verified is available only in certain regions, specifically the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, and is for people 18 years or older. It is not yet available for businesses.
- Meta Verified is not available across both Instagram and Facebook with a single subscription. You need to subscribe separately on each platform.
- The subscription offers several benefits including a verified badge, protection from impersonation, access to support agents, exclusive stickers and stars, and increased reach2.
FAQ
What regions is Meta Verified available in?
Meta Verified is currently available in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
How do I know if I’m eligible?
Meta Verified is for people 18 years or older and is not yet available in all places or for businesses. It is also available only in certain regions: the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
What happens to my verified badge?
Existing verified badge holders can also apply for a Meta Verified subscription if they meet the eligibility requirements. There will be no changes to accounts on Instagram or Facebook that are already verified based on prior requirements.
Can I use one Meta Verified subscription on both Instagram and Facebook?
No. To use Meta Verified on both Instagram and Facebook, you must subscribe on each app separately.
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