Facebook is Launching New Seller App and Free Verified Badge

Facebook is launching a new Seller app today on the US App Store, designed to offer an optimized experience for Facebook Marketplace sellers. The company is also introducing a new Verified badge that will allow Facebook users in select markets to show that they have verified their identity by taking a selfie.

The new Seller app that syncs with Facebook Marketplace follows the recent launch of Forum, another standalone app for Facebook Groups. The Facebook team said today that it’s ready to “explore other purpose-built apps for the people who specifically do one thing the most on Facebook,” and Seller is designed to simplify the process of putting items on sale.

“Seller is a Facebook app that puts everything a seller needs in one place: AI-powered listing creation, a unified inbox, inventory management, and performance insights. It’s connected to the same Facebook network — your buyers and community are still right where they are,” the company explained today.

Seller is now available in the US App Store for people aged over 18, and an Android version is coming soon. The main Facebook will still allow users to sell items on the platform, however.

As for the new Facebook Verified initiative, this is a free alternative to the blue verified badge that Facebook users can get by paying for a Meta Verified subscription, which is priced at $11.99 per month. Before launching these paid verified badges, Meta was already giving verified badges for free to accounts owned by a notable person, brand, or entity. However, this new Facebook Verified initiative will require users to take a video selfie, which Facebook will compare with existing profile photos.

“Once verified, your badge will appear across the places on Facebook where it matters most: Marketplace, Dating, Groups, and Profile to start. Over time, we’ll add badges in Feed posts as well. There’s no subscription fee — you verify once, and the badge travels with you across Facebook” the company explained.

Lastly, the Facebook team said today that it will soon start testing a more video-focused experience on the platform. Later this year, a subset of users will see a full-screen video when they open Facebook, but it will be possible to opt out and go back to the current feed-based experience.

“People are showing us they want more immersive, visual, video-forward experiences, and video is where conversations are happening, communities are forming, and even commerce is starting to take place,” the team said today. It does sound like Meta is trying to make Facebook look more like TikTok, for better or worse.