We can all agree that 2020 has been anything but ordinary. In the midst of the pandemic, racial tensions, and upcoming US elections, Instagram has made some changes to the platform. Among other things, the process of getting a verification badge has been changed, and it might become easier for some of us.
Perhaps you have already tried to have your account verified before. Anyone can apply for it through the app as long as their account is “authentic, unique, complete and notable.” However, Instagram has now made some changes to the process to make it fairer, according to Instagram’s CEO Adam Mosseri.
First of all, the verification process measures your notability through press articles published about you or your business. Mosseri explains that the list has now been expanded to include more Black, LGBTQ+, and Latinx media. He adds that the number of followers “was never a requirement to get verified through the in-app form.” However, Instagram did prioritize accounts with a high following count.
According to Mosseri, prioritizing accounts with a high number of followers helped to sift through the tens of thousands of verification requests Instagram received every day. But he adds that this has now been “removed this from the automated part of the process.” In other words, I guess that it could become easier for us with lower follower count to get our business or creator profiles verified. I’ll sure try that at some point with the account I made for my blog in Serbian. If you’d like to give it a shot, take a look at this link for guidelines.
Mosseri writes that people have started to turn to the platform “to raise awareness for the racial, civic and social causes they care about.” This is why the Instagram team reviewed its policy. It didn’t only change the verification process, but also formed a new equity team and tightened the measures against harassment and hate speech.
“We have a responsibility to look at what we build and how we build, so that people’s experiences with our products better mirror the actions and aspirations of our community.”
[via Engadget]
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