American multinational technology conglomerate Meta, which owns in-demand social networking platforms — Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp —confirmed that they are testing a feature where a user can have five separate profiles linked to a single account. Whereas, Instagram already has a similar feature.
Meta has said, they are running a test that will soon allow users to operate multiple profiles linked to a specific group or profile. It will give the option to have one dedicated feed exclusive to their friends and another one just for their coworkers.
Users, who are part of the test, will be able to switch between their different profiles in a few taps, just like the Instagram profile switch feature. “To help people tailor their experience based on interests and relationships, we’re testing a way for people to have more than one profile tied to a single Facebook account,” a spokesperson Leonard Lam was quoted as saying by the website in an email.
“Anyone who uses Facebook must continue to follow our rules,” Lam added.
This new feature will allow users to have a different or a unique profile name on their separately linked account as long as the unique user name is not used by other profile and doesn’t use any numbers or special characters.
However, people’s main profiles must still use the same name they use in everyday life, Facebook said.
The company further said that separate profiles are still subject to its terms & privacy policies, and by any chance, separate profiles should not misrepresent or impersonate others. If getting caught by FB over violation policies, it will make a negative impact on users’ main profiles.
If someone misuses this new feature intentionally or repeatedly violates the FB policies, the FB system will recognize the person’s main profile and will take appropriate action such as removing the additional profile or the main account.
Facebook said, “this rule will help prevent people from abusing its platform across multiple profiles.” Facebook has been implementing many new features with pilot testing to make the platform more engaging for users. As Facebook is losing significant users daily, this new feature may become a game changer for the social networking giant.
(Inputs with IANS)