Instagram Verification

by Alec Ketabi, Guest Contributor

How hard is it to get an Instagram account verified with blue badge? I have heard from some Instagram users/businesses/brands were receiving DM’s that there are people offering them a help of getting their Instagram account verified and get the blue badge, of course, for a fee.

​According to the research from people who successfully have their accounts verified, the price ranges from hundreds of dollars up to $15,000 USD. This information is from users who have sold verification, and from those who bought verification for someone else, or someone who personally has done the verification process and was granted by Instagram.
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This product is not something tangible or a service offered. This is only for that little blue check you mostly see on the accounts of celebrities, public figures, and well-known brands. It allows users a main spot in search and most of all, if your account is blue-badged, you the access to special features on Instagram. 

The most important thing about the blue badge (verification badge) is that it’s a status symbol in which you are able to gain people’s trust to your business’ legitimacy and it gives the billions of Instagram users the credibility and trustworthiness in the business of influencer marketing.   As per Instagram policies, this is not something that can be requested online or bought; this can only be asked of Instagram itself.

According to Social Tradia, there are some people and businesses prefer to buy Instagram account from influencers instead of growing an Instagram account over time. However, there’s this open secret that many people know. Middlemen who prefer to remain anonymous prove that there is such thing as black market for Instagram verification. As long as you have the money and you know someone selling a verification, it’s possible to get one overnight. You may feel sad about it, but remember, money can buy everything. And that’s the reality!

There is this so-called underground market Instagram helped to create. Though anyone can request for verification on Facebook and on Twitter, Instagram is haughty, it has made itself exclusive and it’s not as easy as one two three to get verified here.  There are some influencers who shared this information that it’s extremely difficult to get that blue check most especially to those who have press clippings and those who work with big brands on sponsorship deals.  

As said by one seller, who agreed to go by his first name James, he is using the Instagram direct message for his market for verification. What he has been doing before was buying and selling accounts with unique names or popular names, and he decided to send a DM to a user with an interesting handle (username) and that someone he sent the message said he was able to gain control or take over the account because he worked at Instagram.

And that’s the beginning of James and his friend on Instagram’s side business. James will look for leads that are willing to pay to have their accounts verified on Instagram, and his friend will make it happen. 

His friend on Instagram charges $1200 USD for each blue checkmark, and James will add some fees being the one who basically is looking for leads and he is charging his clients based on their needs and interests. As per James, he has sold verifications with the price range from $1,500 to $7,000. James started his business on 2017 and before the end of that year, he has sold 5 badges with the help of his friend working at Instagram.  However, only 3 of his submissions were approved. Since they have to submit an official form and they don’t want to get caught with their side-business, they also do their best to provide what Instagram requires. Well, Instagram knows that there’s this kind of thing going on.

Users are aware about Instagram’s Terms and Conditions but it depends on who gets caught. James is also aware that there are Instagram employees getting fired from work because of this kind of business (selling verification badges or accounts). According to James, in 2016, when Instagram decided to deactivate 30 cannabis related accounts, there was a former employee of Instagram who still has access to reactivate accounts, contacted the users and asked for thousands of dollars in return to reactivate the accounts. However, he was caught and his access was completely terminated. Instagram remained silent.

According to Falcon.io being able to successfully get the badge becomes even harder. James said his friend working at Instagram was able to do about five name transfers a week as of last year, but now, he can only do two per week and only one to two verification badges.

Aside from James, there is also someone else named Alejandro Rioja whom interested Instagram users can go to when it comes to getting a blue checkmark. Rioja charges about $6000 USD per account for the checkmark.  Rioja said he is working 2-3 people at Instagram. His asking price ranges from $5000 USD to $8000 USD which depends on how easy or difficult is it to verify. His contact at Instagram will take around 60%-80% of the asking price.

It’s very expensive getting the verification on Instagram because this is what most users desired, however, is the hardest thing to do. A business can be big, and advertisers may spend more than a billion dollars per annum on influencer marketing. But the easiest way to determine if the influencer is legit is the blue checkmark. 

The Instagram verification is granted by submitting a form that is not available to the public. People who can access it are those who are in the industry of tech and media, Instagram employees, as well as big media and entertainment companies. According to our sources, these people have a portal wherein they can request for verification and name changes.  

Instagram needs the user's actual name and accounts together with a form of identity (valid ID's) and the name of a contact at Facebook or Instagram. This is a way Instagram can hold employees accountability so they will not abuse their privileges of having access to features like the verification of accounts for a fee. There is a money-back guarantee from Rioja because it's still not a 100% guarantee that the verification is granted. It still needs to wait for the approval of someone at Instagram. But Rioja said he already verified 12 accounts but he kept the usernames confidential.

The black market for blue checkmark should remain an open secret among Instagram influencers. Those who successfully have their accounts verified by buying the badge might be afraid to disclose the information that it was bought, but some of them relay the information to other influencers.

There is an exclusive club of people who wanted the blue badge on their accounts they are asking those who have verification as to how they were able to have their verification granted.

It's expected that if your account is verified, a lot of people will ask you how you got the checkmark. It depends on how you got one, and it depends whether you want to relay the information or not. Well, if you went through the formal process, there's nothing to be afraid of, but if you used a middleman to buy the badge, better hold your horses that being caught.

Many people who can't help in getting your account verified but love to brag about their accounts because it's verified. Well, we should really be proud if we get one, I guess.
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Author bio:

Alec is a social media marketing writer with 5 years experience working with start-up and medium-size companies. I would like to share my experience and ideas with people who have passionate about sales and digital marketing. 

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