Reddit is testing new 'Official' label: How it works
Elon Musk started a trend in the social media world with a premium plan that offers a blue tick. Twitter's blue checkmark has inspired other companies like Meta. Now, Reddit has jumped on the verification bandwagon. It isn't a check like what X or Meta has. The platform is instead testing an "Official" badge with a few Redditors.
Why does this story matter?
Reddit has always been known as a place where anything goes. It is the freedom and openness that attracted people to the platform. However, the company has been cleaning up its act. The verification feature can be seen as a part of that. It also indicates the increasingly commercial path that Reddit has been on.
The 'Official' label is aimed at improving transparency
Reddit's "Official" labels appear next to usernames. It is similar to a flair next to a subreddit. The label is designed to increase transparency and "authenticate engagement between organizations and users" to stop impersonation. It will help "redditors, moderators, and communities quickly identify organizations and trust that these users are who they say they are," the company said.
Reddit isn't charging for the verification label
Reddit is currently testing the feature. The company said it is only available to a "very small (double-digit) number of organizations." These are organizations with whom the company already has a relationship with. The label is visible on the Android and iOS apps of Reddit at the moment. There isn't any charge associated with it. At least, not until now.
'Official' label improves authenticity of information on Reddit
Reddit has become an important destination for product research. By introducing an "Official" tab, the company is improving the authenticity of the information available on the platform. As long as Reddit doesn't charge organizations for the label, it will hold value. The commercial direction can also be seen as a precursor to Reddit's inevitable IPO.
Company will bring accessibility features to its apps
Reddit's API price hike forced many third-party apps with good accessibility features to shut down. Although Reddit exempted accessibility apps with no commercial intent from the price hike, people were unhappy. To appease them, the company has decided to bring accessibility features to its own apps. According to Reddit, the left navigation menu, profile drawer, Community page, etc., will be compatible with screen readers.
