Meta, the owner of the Facebook and Instagram apps, is testing the launch of a new feature that would allow its users to purchase authentication tokens for their accounts in exchange for monthly subscriptions, similar to Twitter's recently launched Twitter Blue service.
The feature, which has not yet been officially announced by the company, was revealed through a process of reverse engineering by developers of the Instagram and Facebook apps, TechCrunch reports. This revealed that there were two text phrases in the source code of both apps: "FB_NME_PAID_BLUE_BADGE_IDV" on Facebook and "IG_NME_PAID_BLUE_BADGE_IDV" on Instagram, clearly indicating that the feature is already in the latest versions of both apps and awaiting activation.
Reverse engineering is the process of analyzing a program to reveal the structure and functioning of the program, and the process can also reveal parts of the source code. This approach is often used to discover new features that are not yet released.
Facebook and Instagram both offer blue endorsement badges for celebrities, public figures, and brands. While Twitter does offer additional features to its paid verification subscribers, such as the ability to see fewer ads and a change in the app's design, it's not clear if Meta plans to offer its subscribers anything other than a verification tab.
In particular, there is an active black market where accounts are bought and sold for thousands of dollars, and Instagram has caught company employees selling endorsement tags to anyone who wants to buy them without going to the required site. In the endorsement process, many influencers and small business owners try to earn an endorsement sticker to gain credibility with their followers.
The popularity of the black market for selling test tags and Twitter taking this step seems to have encouraged Meta to take similar steps to stop selling test tags on the black market and find new revenue streams.
It should be noted that a few days ago, Meta announced its profits for the last quarter of last year, indicating that its profits decreased by 4% compared to the same period in 2021, and announced that the number of its monthly users reached .96.96 billion. active user.