The waitlist has officially opened for Meta Verified checkmarks on Facebook and Instagram in the U.S. The blue checkmarks, which cost $12 per month on the web and $15 for mobile apps, were first introduced in Australia and New Zealand last month. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram’s Meta channel Friday that in addition to a badge, Meta Verified offers “proactive impersonation protection and direct access to customer support.” To be verified, users must be at least 18 years old, agree to two-factor authentication and provide a government-issued photo ID.

Once Meta Verified, subscribers can’t change their profile name, username, date of birth or even their profile photo unless they re-complete the verification process.

“Meta Verified comes with exclusive stickers on Facebook and Instagram Stories and Facebook Reels, along 100 Stars a month on Facebook so you can show your support for other creators,” writes TechCrunch.

In Australia and New Zealand the Verified subscription includes heightened visibility in search, comments and recommendations, but users there reportedly gave feedback saying they found this aspect confusing, so it will not immediately be made available in the U.S.

“Although Meta has opted not to charge its customers for most of its services since its founding, it’s clear that things are changing,” says TechCrunch, which writes that “Zuckerberg is borrowing from Elon Musk’s playbook.”

“Musk created a paid subscription service for Twitter users in October, shortly after he acquired the company,” writes The Hill. “He tweaked the service a few times before fully rolling it out, but the current iteration of Twitter Blue provides users with a verification checkmark, an edit button on posts and the ability to post longer videos by paying $8 per month.”

Unlike Twitter subscribers, Meta says users that are already verified on Instagram and Facebook can keep their verficiations without paying, for the time being. “Musk has promised to get rid of legacy verification badges, but hasn’t done so yet,” TechCrunch says. Snap also launched a subscription service in 2022, reportedly converting 2.5 million users into paying customers.

A contributor on Seeking Alpha says Meta shareholders should welcome verification, predicting “more likely than not, it will go on to generate billions of dollars per year in additional sales, with significant profit margins attached to it.”

Conceding some “may view this as a money grab,” the investment community author ultimately calls it “part of a cohesive strategy centered around empowering content creators and expanding into the metaverse that the company has so far struggled to make real progress in.”