Is the Blue Tick Still Important? The Reality of Paid Verification
The blue tick used to be the ultimate goal for many Instagram users. It was a symbol of status, credibility, and influence. People would do anything to get it, applying every 30 days, reaching out to anyone they thought could help, and even emailing agencies like us constantly asking how they could be verified. It wasn’t just about looking important; it was a mark of legitimacy… And let’s be honest (no pun intended), to feel cool.
But ever since platforms introduced paid verification, that prestige has disappeared. Now, anyone can buy a blue tick, making it harder than ever to tell who is actually notable and who has just subscribed for the status/confidence boost.
What Does Meta Verified Actually Give You?
Meta promotes its subscription service as more than just a blue tick, claiming that Meta Verified comes with additional perks. But are they actually worth it? Not in our opinion.
Some of our clients insisted on getting it just for the tick, so we’ve seen first-hand what you actually get:
A verified badge – Which, as we’ve already covered, means nothing now.
Proactive impersonation monitoring – Supposedly, this means Meta will step in if someone pretends to be you. But we’ve seen verified clients still dealing with impersonators while Meta Verified does absolutely nothing. We have to use our own contacts to fix this still.
Priority customer support – This is meant to be a “live chat” service, but honestly? We’ve had more helpful conversations with brick walls. Meta’s live support is slow, unhelpful, and borderline pointless. If you actually need proper guidance, you’re better off knowing the right contacts. Luckily, we do.
Exclusive stickers for Stories and Reels – Because obviously, everyone has been desperately waiting for that. Especially the fact everyone who pays for Meta Verified want to announce it through a sticker, of course no one will use these. It outs them as subscribers and not truly verified.
Increased visibility – This one is vague, and the results are questionable. We haven’t seen any noticeable increase in reach for clients who have signed up. Back in the good o’ days, being verified you’d be featured as the first comment people saw and would be listed top when people began to search your name but that’s all gone now. We’ve only noticed drops in organic engagement since Meta Verified and Instagram’s obsession of trying to compete with TikTok.
Meta Verified isn’t technically expensive, but when you consider what you actually get, it’s not even worth the small fee.
Can You Still Get Verified Properly?
Yes, but it’s a lot harder than before.
We work with clients in film, media, and entertainment who need their projects verified, and it used to be a straightforward process. If someone had a major film release, bestselling book, strong press coverage, or was a public figure who hadn’t been verified yet, we’d send an email to our contact, and within a few days, verification would be granted.
Now? Even with direct industry contacts, our Meta contacts push us towards the paid model. The old system, which was based on public significance, has been replaced with an even stricter set of requirements. It used to be so simple but now it’s actually a bit of a headache for us to get the real verification, usually two weeks back and forth saying we don’t want to pay and we fit the requirements.
Can You Still Apply for Verification the Old Way?
Technically, yes. You can still apply for verification using Meta’s official verification request form (unless you pay for Meta Verified, the option disappears - so think wisely or you’re going to risk having to drop your tick to apply and hope.). But if you’re hoping for success, manage your expectations.
The chances of being approved through the form are incredibly low. In fact, we’ve often felt like the form exists more as a way to stop users from bombarding Meta employees with emails and LinkedIn messages than as a legitimate route to verification.
That said, if you still want to try, here’s what gives you the best chance of success:
Strong press coverage. Articles about you in credible publications, not pay-to-play PR pieces.
Consistent media presence. TV appearances, features in well-known podcasts, or regular bylines in major outlets.
A notable profession. Celebrities, actors, musicians, politicians, high-profile entrepreneurs, journalists, public commentators, and those directly involved with public figures tend to have a better shot.
No verification violations. If you have been denied multiple times or have previously lost verification, your chances drop even further.
An active, well-established account. If your profile is brand new, barely used, or private, you’re unlikely to be considered… Unless you’re a big public figure.
No history of buying followers, likes, or engagement. If you’ve ever purchased fake engagement, Meta will almost certainly reject your request. Their verification team reviews account authenticity, and artificial growth is a red flag.
How to Find and Submit the Verification Form
If you still want to apply for verification, follow these steps:
Make sure you’re logged into the account you want to verify.
Tap profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
Tap more options in the top right.
Below For professionals, tap Account type and tools.
Tap Request verification.
Enter your full name and provide the required form of identification (such as a government-issued photo ID or official business documents).
Once you submit your request, expect to wait around three weeks for a response. Most users will receive a rejection notification, often without any clear explanation.
We have known a few people who applied every month for years and eventually got verified, but they did meet all the requirements. It seemed like their persistence finally paid off, though it’s impossible to say if Meta took them more seriously over time or if they just caught the right person reviewing their application.
Even if you meet all these criteria, success is far from guaranteed. Meta’s verification team is unpredictable, and approvals through the form are rare. If you do apply, expect either an automated rejection or silence.
What Counts as a Notable Public Figure?
Social media platforms still claim to offer verification for users who are considered notable. But what does that actually mean?
Typically, this includes:
Actors, musicians, and athletes – Those who have had features in major films, TV shows, or professional sports leagues.
Journalists and broadcasters – Regular contributors to major news outlets or those with a byline at a recognised publication.
Public commentators and experts – People who appear on TV or major platforms as specialists in their field.
High-profile business leaders – Founders or executives of well-known companies.
In theory, if you fall into one of these categories and have strong press coverage, you should be able to get verified properly. But in practice, unless you’re extremely high profile, platforms still push you towards the paid model.
More Impersonation Than Ever
One of the biggest problems paid verification has caused is the rise in impersonation scams. We now deal with more clients than ever being impersonated by accounts that are ‘verified’… Not because they’ve been authenticated, but because the scammer has simply paid for the tick.
This is especially common in:
Actors and musicians – Fake agents and managers setting up verified accounts to scam people out of money.
Business figures and entrepreneurs – Fraudsters impersonating executives and running phishing scams.
Brands and influencers – Fake customer service accounts tricking followers into handing over details.
Before, if you saw a verified account, you could trust it. Now? You have to double-check everything. Even social media platforms themselves have admitted they struggle to control this issue since introducing paid verification.
How to Tell If Someone Paid for Verification
Since the change, many people have started asking: how can you tell if someone is actually verified or just paying for it? While platforms don’t officially distinguish between the two, there are a few ways to make an educated guess:
Verified after August 2023? If the account suddenly got verified after this date and isn’t a high-profile figure, it’s likely a subscription.
Follower count vs. engagement? A verified account with low engagement and only a few hundred followers is probably paying. Genuine verification used to be reserved for accounts with significant reach.
Post history? A brand-new account with a blue tick is almost certainly paid for. Legitimately verified accounts typically have an established history.
Subscription perks? If they’re using features like Meta Verified stickers, they’re definitely paying.
Check the platform settings. On X, if you click a blue tick, it will tell you if the account is verified due to being “notable” or if they’re just subscribed to X Premium.
And apparently, in the US, you can even apply for Meta Verified as a private account, which really says it all. We haven’t seen this option available in the UK, but it seems to be happening more frequently in the US, with many private accounts managing to get the tick.
With real verification, you get a pop-up warning that you will lose your verified tick if you switch to private. But with paid verification, there’s no such restriction in certain locations, meaning you can be a completely unknown, private account with a handful of followers and still have the same blue tick as global celebrities.
Which raises a serious issue, if verification was originally meant to prove an account is authentic and prevent impersonation, allowing private accounts to be verified does the exact opposite. An impersonator could buy a tick, set their account to private, and create a closed-off space where they manipulate, scam, or mislead people under the guise of legitimacy. The whole point of verification was to confirm public interest, but when private accounts are verified, it removes any real accountability.
At this point, the blue tick no longer signals credibility, it just signals a subscription.
A private account with four posts and 200 followers is verified. If verification is supposed to confirm public interest and authenticity, this makes no sense. It’s hard to take the tick seriously anymore, and for most people, paying for it is a complete waste of money.
What Happens When You Get Verified Legitimately?
If you actually qualify for verification, you’ll get a notification from the platform. It usually appears as:
A pop-up message when you log in.
A notification in your account saying, “Your account has been verified.”
An email from the platform confirming your verification.
If you’ve gone through the proper process, you don’t need to pay for anything. But these approvals are far rarer than before, as platforms prioritise paid subscribers.
TikTok’s Blue Tick: The Most Random of Them All
If you thought Meta Verified was messy, TikTok’s verification process is on another level.
Unlike Instagram and Twitter/X, there’s no official application process for TikTok verification. You can’t submit a form, you can’t request it, and you definitely can’t buy it (at least not yet). TikTok hands out blue ticks at its own discretion, meaning the entire system is unpredictable.
So how do you actually get verified on TikTok? The truth is, no one really knows, but here’s what seems to help:
Consistent virality – If you’re regularly hitting high view counts and getting traction, TikTok might verify you.
Press coverage – Some verified users have been told press articles about them played a role in their approval.
Large followings elsewhere – If you’re already verified on Instagram or have a significant presence on other platforms, you might get noticed.
Luck – Seriously, there’s no clear rhyme or reason. We’ve seen people with millions of followers remain unverified, while others with smaller audiences get the blue tick out of nowhere.
And here’s where it gets even stranger, TikTok verifies random creators who have no presence outside the platform.
Unlike Instagram or Twitter, where verification was originally designed to confirm public figures who could be impersonated, TikTok gives blue ticks to people who are famous only on TikTok. Which doesn’t really make sense. If someone is already big on TikTok, it’s not like their audience is struggling to find them. It’s already their stomping ground, why do they need extra verification?
Especially when you consider that a TikTok influencer’s lifespan is incredibly short. Trends move at lightning speed, and most viral creators rarely break out beyond the platform. TikTok fame is often its own bubble, big today, gone tomorrow. Unlike a public figure with long-term recognition, most TikTok stars fade quickly, which makes the idea of verifying them even more questionable.
If verification is supposed to be about authenticity and longevity, verifying someone whose fame is tied to an algorithm that could bury them next week makes zero sense.
By contrast, public figures with real-world fame who could actually be impersonated often struggle to get verified on TikTok. Celebrities, journalists, and business figures who are verified everywhere else don’t always get a blue tick, while someone who only posts dance videos or trending sounds might have one.
If TikTok verification is meant to confirm authenticity, the randomness of who gets it and who doesn’t makes it one of the least predictable systems out there. Unlike Meta, you can’t throw money at the problem, but even if you could, it’s not clear if it would make any difference.
Is It Even Worth Getting Verified Properly Anymore?
Honestly? Probably not.
In the past, getting verified was a big deal. It set you apart and gave your account an extra layer of credibility. Now, if you get verified the proper way, most people will assume you’re paying for it anyway, especially on Instagram.
The only real advantage to going through the proper process is avoiding the perception that you’re a subscriber, but even that is barely worth the hassle when people no longer take the blue tick seriously, and there’s no way to prove you didn’t pay for it anyway… unless someone grabs your phone, digs through your settings, and checks your billing or the Meta Verified section.
For high-profile figures who are frequently impersonated, real verification still has some benefits. But for everyone else? The stress of proving you’re notable might not be worth it anymore as it’s about as exclusive as being a Soho House member now.
And if you need help? You know where to find us.