How to get verified on Instagram

Instagram is opening itself up for more users to attain that magical blue check mark, officially known as Verified Badges, that only the most popular users qualify for.

All they really mean is that Instagram has confirmed that an account is authentic and these badges are intended to make it easier to find public figures, celebrities, and brands for users to follow.

Now accounts with a large number of followers can apply to be verified. Accounts that apply for this verification will be evaluated to determine if they’re in the public interest and meet Instagram’s verification criteria.

Meeting the requirements

According to Instagram’s Help Centre page on Verified Badges, the requirements to be met to qualify for verification are:

• Authenticity: Your account must represent a real person, registered business or entity.
• Uniqueness: Your account must be the unique presence of the person or business it represents. Only one account per person or business may be verified, with exceptions for language-specific accounts. Instagram does not verify general interest accounts (example: @puppymemes).
• Completeness: Your account must be public and have a bio, profile photo, and at least one post. Your profile can’t contain “add me” links to other social media services.
• Notability: Your account must represent a well-known, highly searched for person, brand or entity. Instagram reviews accounts that are featured in multiple news sources, and we don’t consider paid or promotional content as sources for review.

These accounts must also be in line with Instagram’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.

Getting Verified

1. Request verification

Log in, go to your profile and from there go to the Settings menu where you’ll be able to select “Request Verification.”

2. Provide an appropriate form of identification

Fill out the form page with all the relevant details, including a government-issued ID that can verify your identity, like a driver’s license, passport or other national ID.

That’s it. After applying you’ll just have to wait for a notification of approval. If that request wasn’t successful, you can apply again after 30 days.

By Daniëlle Kruger
Follow Daniëlle Kruger on Twitter
Follow IT News Africa on Twitter