A verified badge is a check sign located next to the name of an Instagram account in search and on the profile. It means that Instagram has confirmed that an account officially belongs to the public figure, celebrity or a global brand.

A verified badge simplifies the process of finding public figures, celebrities or brands.

Verification helps to stand out from the crowd, gives more trust, confirms that the account is real

HypeAuditor has analyzed 268,801 influencers’ accounts with the verification mark and would like to share with you the findings.

Key Takeaways on Instagram Verification

  • Exclusivity: Only 2.66% of Instagram accounts with over 1,000 followers are verified, highlighting the badge’s rarity and prestige.
  • Diverse Eligibility: Accounts of any size, from nano-influencers to mega-influencers, can achieve verification, demonstrating that follower count alone does not determine eligibility.
  • Enhanced Engagement: Verified accounts enjoy a 30% higher average engagement rate, indicating increased trust and visibility.
  • Geographical Bias: A significant portion (29.9%) of verified accounts are based in the US, suggesting regional preferences in the verification process.
  • Gender Disparity: Over 58% of verified accounts belong to male influencers, showing a gender imbalance in verification.
  • Brand Presence: Only 19% of verified accounts are brands, with a higher concentration in specific follower tiers.

Can You Pay for Instagram Verification?

Instagram’s verification process is designed to authenticate identities of public figures, celebrities, and brands, ensuring users can easily find genuine accounts.

Importantly, Instagram emphasizes that verification is free and cannot be bought. The platform explicitly states that it will never request payment for verification or contact users to confirm their verification status.

Applying for a verified badge is a straightforward process outlined by Instagram, and any promises of paid verification from third parties are scams and against Instagram’s policies.

Trust and authenticity are at the heart of Instagram’s verification, underscoring its commitment to genuine user experiences.

Only 2.66% of Instagram accounts are verified

We have checked a sample of 10M Instagram accounts that have over 1000 followers. Only 2.66% of them have a verification mark.

Even accounts with 1K followers can have a verification badge

To better understand the principle of obtaining verification we divided accounts into five Tiers based on the number of followers.

Surprisingly, we found that even a nano-influencer (accounts that have from 1K to 5K followers) may get a verification badge.

For instance, marine corps veteran Josh Roe has only 1,112 followers and is verified.

Or account of @easytaxiven has 4 followers 0 posts and is verified.

In quantitative terms, there are almost as many nano-influencers (15,655) with verification marks as mega-influencers (18,497).

Among macro-influencers (100K-1M followers) almost every fifth has a verification badge. 20.34% of macro-influencers are verified.

The largest share of verified accounts have account with over 1M followers. 69.9% of accounts with over 1M followers are verified
This means that the checkmark is almost automatically received when reaching more than a million users.

29% of verified accounts located in the US

29.9% of verified accounts are from the US. The chances of getting verification for an account from the US are much higher.

Verified accounts have a 30% higher engagement rate on average

Accounts with verification get a higher engagement rate in all Tiers than accounts without verification.

We don’t know exactly why it happens: it might be that Instagram gives preference to verified accounts, or users have more trust to them and are more willing to interact with their posts, or verified accounts have a higher percentage of quality audience.

The fact is that in some tiers verified accounts get twice as much engagement as accounts without verification.

Over 58% of verified accounts are male

There are more verified male influencers than female.

Only 19% of verified accounts are brands

19% of verified accounts are the ones of brands. More brand accounts are found among accounts with 20K-100K (22%), and less among mega-influencers (14%).

Benefits of Instagram verification

As of the end of 2020 only 2.66% of Instagram accounts are verified.
Verified accounts have some benefits, such as:

  • Verification Increases trustwothiness;
  • Posts of verified accounts get higher engagement rate;
  • Comments of verified accounts are sorted higher then usual comments;
  • Brands prefer to work with verified Instagram accounts

If you want to apply for a verified badge you can do it right now. It is free and the detailed procedure is outlined in that article.

And remember, that Instagram will never request payment for verification or reach out to ask you to confirm your verification.

A version of this post originally appeared here.