Your face can now earn your Facebook account a verification badge.
On Friday, Meta Platforms launched Facebook Verified, a badge that confirms there’s a real person behind a profile. The process works through selfie-based verification.
A Facebook user can record a short video selfie, which will then be used by facial-recognition technology to check against existing profile photos to confirm a match.
Once a user is verified, their badge will appear across Facebook Marketplace, Dating, Groups and a user’s profile to start. Meta has plans to eventually add the badges to posts in feeds as well.
Users only have to verify once through the free process, which has no subscription fee.
Prior to this launch, Facebook users could receive a verified badge through purchasing a Meta Verified subscription, which currently has plans ranging from $14.99 to $499.99 a month per profile.
The badges for Facebook Verified appear to look different than the familiar blue ones that users pay for. Facebook Verified will be rolled out in phases, starting in select markets, with plans for global expansion.
Meta is launching this new process as more content throughout its platforms is AI-generated.
“As AI makes it easier to do more on Facebook, a clear signal that distinguishes real people becomes essential,” the company said in a news release.
Selfie-based verification is becoming more common
Facebook Verified comes one day after Google launched its selfie video sign-in system, a new feature that allows users to use a live video selfie to access their Google accounts.
Facial biometric authentication is not an unfamiliar concept for many tech consumers, as it has been long used by Apple for its biometric security feature Face ID. Owners of Apple’s iPhones and other devices are accustomed to having the option to use their face for device access.
Following Meta’s and Google’s announcements, biometric security features may become more of a default for tech companies as they look for ways to verify the humans behind accounts and keep accounts safe as AI-generated content increases.