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Instagram has recently changed the way the blue check works, making it part of a subscription programme whereby users have to pay a monthly fee to receive the badge.
It is, in short, a form of verification for your profile which comes with a series of benefits. These include:
- Adding weight and credibility to your profile in the eyes of users
- Preventing fake accounts from impersonating you
Here’s how to get the blue check mark if you’re not famous.
Do You Need a Blue Check As a Regular User?
Typically, the blue check mark is only given to users who are at risk of being impersonated on Instagram – for example, authority figures, celebrities, and other high profile account holders.
While anyone can apply for a blue check mark, Instagram is selective about who it grants this badge to – using various information to determine whether an account is eligible.
Thus, you don’t need to be famous to get a blue check, but you do need to have an account that Instagram considers as at risk of impersonation. If not, there is very little point in verifying your profile.
What’s more, you need to have a creator or business account in order to become verified – a criteria which prevents private account holders from accessing this feature.
How to Get a Blue Check
Applying for the blue check is incredibly easy and can be done via the settings in your creator or business profile. All you need to do is head to ‘Account Centre’ in your settings and ‘Request Verification’. From there, you will be asked to fill in an application form – which Instagram will use to decide whether to grant you the check.
The criteria that Instagram uses to determine whether an account is eligible for the verification check includes:
- Having a business or creator account
- Presenting a government ID to confirm your information
- You must be 18 or over
- You are happy to provide a selfie video or alternative to prove to Instagram that you are who you claim to be in your application
If all goes well and Instagram approves your request, you will then become part of the verified community – paying a nominal monthly fee to protect your profile and prevent impersonations and scams.
So no, you don’t have to be famous. But you do need to have the correct account type and match Instagram’s eligibility criteria.
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