Guide to social media verification

The ins and outs of social media verification for every key platform

Craving that little blue tick on your social media channels? You’re not alone. Join us as we explore the ever-coveted social media verification status that sets your profile apart from the rest. 

What is verification and why do people want it?  

Social media verification is when a page or profile has been deemed authentic and is awarded verification to signify that the owner of the page is who they claim to be. This often means that businesses, public figures, or well-known creators are the first to be verified to make it easier for other users to find them on social media and to easily tell the difference between the page they seek versus an impersonator or fan page.  

As a result, verification has quickly become something of a status symbol, with businesses as well as individuals craving verification status; verification can be a quick way to appear more prestigious, trustworthy, popular, and desirable.  

How to get verified 

Verification is often awarded to pages and profiles without the owner needing to do anything. Social media moderators are constantly reviewing profiles or pages and awarding verification where they see fit. This often happens to accounts who have built up a large enough audience for users to want to actively seek them out on the platform (note: their large audience doesn’t even have to be on this specific platform, or on social media at all).   

However, it’s not all a matter of waiting to be noticed and hoping verification is gifted to you overnight. Many social media platforms recognize that users can be impatient to be awarded verification and provide forms that allow you to apply for verification status. Many platforms also offer advice on what they’re looking for in the accounts that achieve verification to increase your chances of success. 

How to get verified on Facebook

Facebook provides verification to confirm the authenticity of public figures and brands. Facebook has a verification form that you can fill in to request for your page or profile to be reviewed for verification, as well as guidance on what they’re looking for when making the decision to award verification. 

When it comes to verification, Facebook pages and profiles must: 

• Be in line with Facebook’s Terms of Service and the Facebook Community Standards. 
• Be authentic: Represent a real person, registered business or entity. 
• Be unique: Be the only presence of this person or business. Only one Page or profile per person or business may be verified, with exceptions for language-specific Pages and profiles. Facebook doesn’t verify general interest Pages and profiles (example: Puppy Memes). 
• Be complete: Have an about section, Page or profile photo and recent activity, including at least one post. 
• Be notable: Represent a well-known, often searched person, brand or entity. Facebook review Pages and profiles that are featured in multiple news sources, and don't consider paid or promotional content as sources for review. 

How to get verified on Twitter 

Since Twitter has undergone some leadership changes in recent months, the rules around verification have also seen some changes. Historically, the blue checkmark of verification status has been used to indicate that a profile is active, notable, and an authentic account of public interest.  

However, the presence of this blue checkmark on a Twitter account can now mean one of two things: 

1. This account has an active subscription to the Twitter Blue subscription service and has met the eligibility criteria 
2. This account was previously verified under the legacy verification criteria (although accounts still need to meet the eligibility criteria to retain the checkmark) 

Twitter has stated that it will no longer be accepting applications for blue tick verification status under the legacy verification criteria. 

 Blue checkmark eligibility criteria, however, is as follows: 

• Account must be actively subscribed to Twitter Blue  
• Account must have a display name and profile photo 
• Account must be active in the past 30 days to subscribe to Twitter Blue 
• Account must be older than 90 days upon subscription and have a confirmed phone number  
• Account must have no recent changes to profile photo, display name, or username (@handle) 
• Account must have no signs of being misleading or deceptive 
• Account must have no signs of engaging in platforms of manipulation and spam

If a Twitter profile meets all of the blue checkmark eligibility criteria then a checkmark will be rewarded after the team at Twitter have reviewed your profile.  

It’s worth noting that the blue checkmark can be removed without notice if you: 

• Make any changes to your profile photo, display name, or username (@handle). The tick may be returned after a short period while the Twitter team re-reviews if you are still meeting the eligibility criteria. 
• Violate the Twitter Terms of Service, Twitter Rules, manipulate any Twitter processes, or circumvent any enforcement actions. 

How to get verified on Instagram

As Facebook and Instagram are both Meta-owned platforms, it’s no surprise that the Facebook advice and requirements for verification are largely the same across both social channels.  

Meta’s advice for Instagram verification states that Instagram accounts must follow the Instagram Terms of Service, as well as the Community Guidelines while also aligning with the verification advice that also applies to Facebook Pages (authentic, unique, complete, notable).  

To request a verification badge for your Instagram account, go to your profile within the mobile app and find the hamburger-style menu from the top right. From here, head into Settings > Account > and then “Request verification.” From here, enter your full name, provide the required form of identification, and complete the rest of the form.  

How to get verified on LinkedIn 

While verification on most social channels serves to highlight that you are a notable figure and recognize the authenticity of your account, LinkedIn verification is about confirming that you work where you claim to work. As a result, getting verified on LinkedIn is simply a matter of verifying your work email address.  

The following steps cover how to verify your work email address within LinkedIn: 

1. Head to your organization’s Page. Use the search bar to find your place of work and click “View Page.” 
2. Click the “My Company” tab on the left-side navigation. 
3. Click “Verify email address” and enter your work email here. 
4. Select “Send code.” 
5. You’ll find your verification code within your work email account – enter this code and then click “Confirm.” The code will expire after 15 minutes of receipt. 

After you’ve verified your work email address in LinkedIn, you’ll be able to access content provided by your company’s Page Admin under the “My Company” tab (if applicable). You also may see a verification on your “About this profile” card if your company is on LinkedIn’s work email verification support list.  

How to get verified on Pinterest 

Pinterest's verification program is currently paused. However, if you’re hoping to get your Pinterest account verified in the future (if this becomes available again) then it might help to review some of the advice that has been historically given around Pinterest verification.  

In the past, verification on Pinterest has been available for business profiles only, and verification itself would come in the form of a red tick beside your username versus the blue tick we often see across other social platforms. Verification on Pinterest has been used predominantly as a way for businesses to confirm ownership of their website.  

In the past, you were able to claim your website and become verified by completing the following steps: 

1. Confirm that your Pinterest account is a business account or converting to a business account if it is not already. 
2. Use the top right navigation to head into your Settings, “Edit profile,” and then “Claim” to claim your website. 
3. Next you would be asked to enter your website before clicking “Claim.” 
4. You would then be given the option to either claim your website by pasting a HTML tag into the <head> section of your site’s index.html file or claim your website by downloading a file and uploading it to your website’s root directory. 

How to get verified on TikTok 

Like other social channels, TikTok uses verification to confirm the legitimacy of the identity of the accounts you find on TikTok, making it easier to distinguish between real identities versus parody or fan accounts. 

Although it was possible in the past to apply for TikTok verification within the app, this feature has since been removed.  

TikTok will review accounts independently to decide if they meet the requirements for a verification badge using criteria that are not dissimilar to the advice provided by Meta in relation to Instagram and Facebook verification.  

Account requirements for you to be considered by TikTok for verification include: 

• Active: You must have logged in within the past 6 months. 
• Authentic: Your account must represent a real person, business, or entity (your email domain must also represent your business). 
• Complete: Your account must be public and have a completed profile with a bio, name, profile photo, and at least one video.  
• Notable: Accounts that are features in multiple news sources will be reviewed. Press releases and sponsored/paid media won’t be considered. 
• Secure: Your account must have multi-factor authentication with a verified email to ensure the authentic owner remains the authentic owner.  

Users must also adhere to TikTok’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Service. Follower counts and engagement levels will not influence verification. Check out TikTok’s guidelines on verification for more information,

If you are lucky enough to receive verification from TikTok, it’s worth noting that TikTok may remove verification if: 

• The account is found to be in severe or repeated violation of the Community Guidelines and Terms of Service. 
• The account was found to be transferred to another owner. 
• The username changed. 
• The account type changed (between business, personal, or institution). 

How to get verified on YouTube  

It is possible to apply for verification status on YouTube after your account has reached 100,000 subscribers. You will be unable to apply before this milestone has been reached.  

YouTube’s verification process is designed to confirm the authenticity of creators, artists, companies, or public figures and won’t award any additional features to verified accounts. 

YouTube’s verification eligibility criteria is as follows: 

• Authentic: Your channel must represent the real creator, brand, or entity that it claims to be. YouTube will check different factors to help verify your identity, such as the age of your channel. YouTube may also ask for more info or documentation. 
• Complete: Your channel must be public and have a channel banner, description, and profile picture. The channel also needs to have content and be active on YouTube. 

YouTube also states that it may verify accounts independently that have less than 100,000 subscribers if they are well-known outside of YouTube.  

You risk having your verification status removed if you change your channel name or if YouTube’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service are violated.  

Whether you’re able to apply for verification, or this is simply a waiting game, that little checkmark will find you if you’re destined to be verified. If you’re looking to make your profile look more legitimate and authentic in the meantime, be sure to follow the advice provided by the social media platforms by maintaining activity and having a complete and filled-in profile.