Facebook verified badge rolls out with a free video selfie check
Facebook is launching a free Verified badge for eligible adults, using video selfies to help users spot accounts checked by the platform.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Facebook verified badge checks are coming to regular users for free, with the platform asking eligible people to record a short video selfie before it adds the mark to their account.
Facebook said in a Friday blog post that the new badge is aimed at making accounts easier to judge as artificial intelligence makes it easier to create content, profiles and messages. The company is positioning the badge as a signal that a user has gone through its own verification process.
The system is separate from Meta Verified, the paid subscription bundle Meta launched in 2023 that included verification for Facebook and Instagram, similar to paid checkmark programs on other social platforms.
How do you get the Facebook Verified badge?
Facebook said users can apply by recording a short video selfie. The company then compares that video with the profile photos already on the account, a review Facebook said should take only a few minutes.
The badge will not be open to every account at launch. Facebook said users must be at least 18 and in good standing under its Community Standards.
That means accounts should not be flagged for fraud, scams or deceptive practices, according to Facebook. The company also said eligible accounts should show no evidence of inauthentic behavior, a category covered in Meta’s Community Standards policy.
Facebook said Pages and ProMode accounts cannot get the badge for now. The rollout is focused on individual users, rather than publisher-style or professional accounts.
Where will the badge appear first?
At the start, Facebook said the Verified badge will appear in parts of the app where trust signals are most useful: Marketplace, Dating, Groups and user profiles.
That means people browsing listings, meeting potential dates, joining communities or checking a profile may see the badge before it shows up elsewhere. Facebook said badges will come to Feed posts over time, but did not give a date for that expansion.
The company said the program will roll out in phases, beginning in select markets. Facebook plans to expand the badge globally, though it did not name the first countries or provide a full timetable.
What is Facebook Verified meant to do?
Facebook Verified is meant to give users a quick way to see that an account has passed Facebook’s selfie-based check. It does not apply to Pages or ProMode accounts, and Facebook has not described it as a guarantee about everything an account posts or says.
The free price is a key part of the pitch. Meta’s earlier Meta Verified package was a paid product, while this Facebook-only badge is being offered without a subscription fee to eligible users who complete the selfie check.
This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.