LinkedIn has launched its new verification system that supports CLEAR and work email verification for more than 4,000 companies.
The Microsoft-owned platform is jumping into the verification trend, but LinkedIn will keep it free for all members.
Related | Meta Verified Service Goes Live In The US
On LinkedIn, proving you are real is probably even more useful than on any other platform. And now the company is set to offer free verification for users to prove their identity and where they work.
To verify your identity, LinkedIn has partnered with CLEAR, an online secure identity platform that is also being used by TSA at U.S. airports, to allow you to securely confirm your information. You will then be able to display that your identity has been verified on your profile, using a US government-issued ID and US phone number.
LinkedIn also offers verification via company email, provided you work at one of the 4,000 companies currently supported. The Microsoft Entra verification is rolling out at the end of April initially to 2 million LinkedIn members.
“Authenticity online has never been more important,” says Alex Weinert, vice president of identity security at Microsoft. “We’ve seen a steady uptick in fraudulent presentations with people pretending to be people they’re not in all kinds of different forms. You want to know really that if you interact with somebody who says they’re employed by a certain company or represent a certain company that you can trust who they say they are. The need for that is pretty clear.”
Related | Twitter Will Give Away Its $1,000 Gold Checkmark For Free To The 10,000 Most-Followed Companies
Not all LinkedIn members will have access to the free LinkedIn verification options immediately as LinkedIn says they will expand availability and ways for you to participate over time.