The post You can now apply to get a verified badge on Instagram — here’s how appeared first on BardTech . Instagram is at last quenching the thirst of its thirsty, thirsty unverified users. The company just introduced a trio of new features designed to make Instagram a generally safer and more authentic place to hang out ( third-party 2FA — enable it!) and for the first time the platform now offers users a straightforward way to request verification. On Instagram, blue check marks are fairly rare, even among pretty big brands and public figures. Getting verified on the platform has long been the stuff of legend — no one quite knows what goes on behind the scenes but knowing a guy doesn’t hurt. Remarkably, there’s even a super sketchy black market where people charge thousands of bucks to hook you up with verified status (or more likely to just rip you off). The whole thing has always been kind of mysterious, with little blue checks quietly sprinkled around in no discernible pat...