Portions of code in Instagram suggest the social network is tempted to emulate Twitter, on paying certification to earn a blue badge.
After Twitter Blue, will Instagram follow suit with its own paid certification, to allow Internet users to display a small blue badge next to their pseudonym? This is suggested by portions of code detected in the application of the social network specializing in the sharing of photos and videos, including TechCrunch echoes on February 2, 2023.
It is a developer who discovered parameters, the titles of which leave little doubt as to the reflections in progress at Instagram. The variables evoke a “paid blue badge”, but also the Instagram and Facebook platforms. There is also an acronym, IDV, which could mean “identity verification”.
Developer Alessandro Paluzzi shared screenshots with TechCrunch, and he’s already shown off other feature finds before they debuted on Instagram — like sharing QR codes. He was thus right on several occasions, which reinforces the idea that the subsidiary of Meta (the parent company of Instagram) would be determined to follow Twitter.
Twitter Blue is one of the first projects launched by Elon Musk on arriving at the head of the social network. This is a paid version of the platform: against a certain amount per month, the Internet user has access to additional services – increased visibility, reduced advertising, early access to features, and so on.
Launched in France at the beginning of February (Twitter Blue in France costs 9.6 or 12 euros per month), the certification service allows individuals to benefit from a badge similar to the accounts that received it until present because they were notable in their sector: public figures, organizations, companies, governments, etc.
It is also, for Twitter, a way to generate a new financial source, in addition to advertising – whose investments have been declining since the site was taken over by Elon Musk. But, the beginnings of this paid certification were chaotic to say the least, with problems of identity theft. It took Twitter a change of approach to sort out this mess.
A black market for Instagram certification
Instagram also has a certification tool, which basically targets the most prominent profiles — influencers, stars, government officials, brands and others. Obtaining the blue badge proves difficult on Instagram – so much so that a parallel market has finally emerged, where certified badges are resold for gold.
If only to kill this business and instead redirect the money that revolves around it, Instagram would have every interest in developing its own certification tool in turn. The site would respond to an obvious demand, would also obtain a new source of money and would settle this black market of certification.
One of the keys to the success of this paid service, if it does see the light of day, will be the list of advantages linked to “Instagram Blue”. Will we be entitled, for example, to better visibility on the platform? One thing is certain: Instagram can take advantage of the path opened up by Twitter to avoid repeating the same mistakes it did, especially on identity theft.
