Facebook and Instagram began a week-long rollout of their first paid verification service on Friday, testing users’ willingness to pay for social media features that until now have been free.

Facing a drop in advertising revenues, parent company Meta is piloting a subscription in Australia and New Zealand before it appears in larger markets. The service will cost $11.99 on the web and $14.99 on the iOS and Android mobile platforms.

From Friday, subscribers Down Under who provide government-issued IDs can start applying for a verified badge, offering protection against impersonation, direct access to customer support and more visibility, according to the company.

Some attempts to join Meta Verified from Sydney found the service was not available on the first day of the rollout.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a statement posted on Facebook and Instagram that the new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across their services.The swelling army of creators, influencers and pseudo-celebrities who make a living online could be obvious users of verification, according to experts.

Many of them complain that it can be difficult to smooth technical and administrative problems, causing delays and lost revenue.

Jonathon Hutchinson, a lecturer in online communication at the University of Sydney, said a kind of “VIP service” could be “quite a valuable proposition for a content creator”.

But ahead of the launch, ordinary users seemed less than keen to hand over money to a company that already makes vast sums from their data.

Some commentators have expressed puzzlement at why Facebook and Instagram would adopt a verification-subscription strategy that rival Twitter tried just weeks ago — with less than stellar results.

But Hutchinson said Meta has often shown a willingness to try new, and at times risky models, only to drop what does not work. He sees this latest gambit as part of a broader effort to condition users to pay for social media.