Meta wants you to create more Instagram and Facebook accounts and easily jump between them

Meta is working to make switching between Facebook and Instagram accounts easier with a new profile switching tool.

Anyone using either app will be able to switch between them if they've linked those profiles through Meta's centralized profile hub, the Account Center. When logged into an app, users can easily switch between apps through the profile menu, where all linked accounts will appear.

Meta encourages users to enable "connected experiences" through the Account Center, which unifies the identity of its products. The feature is currently being tested, but the test is widely available for iOS, Android, and web users worldwide.

At the same time that Meta wants users to rely on a centralized account for all apps, the company also makes it simple to create and manage multiple accounts. Now users can create new accounts with an existing Instagram or Facebook login rather than signing up from scratch, which was admittedly quite annoying just to run your finsta or whatever. The new account creation feature, also in trial for now, is available globally on iOS and Android.

While Meta, formerly Facebook, was once diametrically opposed to the idea of ​​its users maintaining a bunch of different profiles, instead insisting on a single "true" identity, the company has changed its tune in recent years.< /p>

There could be several reasons for this. A generous read is that Meta knows that digital identity is increasingly fluid and multifaceted, especially among younger users who are comfortable on social platforms that accept pseudonyms (TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, etc.) . But Meta is also keenly aware that TikTok, its ascendant rival, is cutting the time people spend on its own apps. Encouraging more accounts and more cross-platform logins could improve its user engagement numbers, making things a little less dire on quarterly earnings calls etc.

Another equally cynical read is that Meta wants its app suite to be as interconnected as possible these days, so that if regulators ever follow through on threats to break up the company, it won't be. as simple as forcing her to sell Instagram, WhatsApp or her VR business. Whether regulators in the US will ever stumble upon Meta, and whether they would even care about the technical realities of separating its myriad products if they did, remains to be seen, but it sure is very Meta< /em > to defend against a perceived threat to one's business at all costs.