If you are one of the 1.221 billion active Instagram users, you have surely noticed the double blue check on the profiles of artists, politicians, companies, among others, and you have asked yourself: what does it take to get verified on Instagram? Can everyone do it? Does it mean having advantages and benefits within the social network?
Recently, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri clarified some of these questions and especially myths about verification on his Twitter account. To make these points clear and explain everything you need to do to verify an Instagram account, let's start by understanding the issue from the root:
What is verification?
Verification on Instagram is the process through which the platform provides some accounts with a guarantee of authenticity, recognition and relevance.
Times account, for example, is really managed by its team and that the content is 100% authentic.
As Instagram notes on its official page , “verification is people’s way of making sure the featured accounts they follow or search for are who they say they are.”
Instagram's verification process consists of reviewing and investigating reliable philippines phone number example news coverage to analyze the social and cultural impact of a person or company and thus determine if they need their authenticity badge (double blue check).
Myths and truths about verification
The fact that not everyone can have a verified account generates a series of myths and rumors that confuse people about the true meaning and purpose of the coveted “double blue check”, not only on Instagram but also on Facebook.
The following video posted by Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri on Twitter at the beginning of September perfectly clarifies the main myths surrounding verification, stating the following:
“Verification doesn’t give you more distribution in the feed, it doesn’t give you more distribution in explore, it’s not intended to give you any kind of privileges, it just serves to make sure that the Rock’s account is actually the Rock and not someone pretending to be Dawney Johnson.”
With his statements, Mosseri denies that the double blue check favors the profiles that have it by positioning their content above others and that this influences the way in which the platform displays their publications.
Another myth is that accounts must have millions of followers to be verified, when in fact anyone can apply for the blue badge through their settings, regardless of their follower count.
Again, the main requirement is to be a person or a business account that needs to be validated against possible imposters . Other requirements are: the account must be public, have at least one post and a bio.
As we mentioned, Instagram's decision to grant verification or not depends on the number of times the person's name appears in the media or print press.
What is true? Verified accounts cannot change their name, nor transfer the verification badge to another account . On the other hand, if Instagram detects a user selling verifications and deceiving community members, it will delete their account.
Now yes: What are the steps to verify an Instagram account?
1. Access your profile
2. Press the options menu and select the “Settings” option
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3. Click on “Account” and then “Request verification”
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4. Share the identity documents requested by Instagram
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Although anyone can apply for verification and receive approval if they meet all the requirements, Instagram's CEO warned that it is not advisable to request verification repeatedly, because it can harm the selection process and if it is rejected, it is advisable to wait two to three months to try again.
In short, to verify an account on Instagram, it must represent a real person, legally registered company or organization, with notoriety and a significant number of mentions in various media outlets and for these reasons, its authenticity needs to be recognized.