(Updated - February 21, 2023 5:34 AM EST)

Investing.com -- Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) has announced a new paid subscription service on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Dubbed Meta Verified, the feature lets users "get a blue badge," "extra impersonation protection," and "direct access to customer support," chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Web users will need to pay $11.99 a month for the service, while customers using Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone will face costs of $14.99 a month. Zuckerberg said it will first be available in Australia and New Zealand this week, with more countries to follow soon.

"This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services," Zuckerberg added.

The move follows a similar decision by Elon Musk's Twitter, which introduced the Twitter Blue subscription service last November. The rollout was delayed after several accounts took advantage of the service to impersonate large corporations or celebrities.

Bank of America analyst Justin Post sees potential for Meta Platforms to add up to 12 million subscribers by the end of 2023, early 2024.

"We are intrigued by this offering, which follows Twitter Blue and likely reflects demand for more services by Facebook’s creators. However, audience size could be limited by the number of creators and influencers on Meta’s platforms (Linktree estimates that there are over 45mn Global content creators with over 10k+ followers), and Meta’s release suggests that those already verified can keep their status," Post said in a client note.

"Given a broader audience reach and bigger revenue opportunity for creators, we believe Meta could outperform the subscriber ramp (as a percent of users) of peer subscription offerings (the service will likely be refined and improved over time). However, we note some potential audience size limitations above."

By Scott Kanowsky