Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Meta is going to let Facebook users create multiple personal profiles and switch between them without logging out and logging back in, according to a blog post published Thursday. Conceptually, Meta is embracing finstas but for Facebook.
“Whether you’re new to Facebook or a longtime user, you may want to keep your personal and professional relationships separate, or you may want to keep one profile tied to a community you’re a part of and another profile just for friends,” Meta wrote. “Creating multiple personal profiles lets you easily organize who you share with and what content you see for the various parts of your life. Think one profile for the foodie scene you love and another one to keep up with your friends and family.”
You’ll be able to have up to four additional Facebook profiles. You can switch between them from the menu that’s accessible when you tap your profile pic on the bottom right of the toolbar. However, additional profiles have some limitations to start; the Messenger app won’t support them, and features like Facebook Dating, Facebook Marketplace, and Professional Mode aren’t accessible from your extra profiles for now.
Meta said that it has been experimenting with the feature over the last year and that “we heard from people that clearer organization of friends, groups, and interests helps them feel freer to engage with the audience they believe is most relevant.” Those reasons are the same ones that have always incentivized people to make extra profiles on Instagram or Facebook, and with this change, it’s a lot easier to do so. (Though Meta’s blog post says your extra profiles can’t impersonate anyone else and must adhere to Facebook’s community standards about not misrepresenting your identity.)
The feature will roll out globally beginning Thursday, and the rollout will take place over “the next few months.” If you jump back into the app to make a Facebook finsta, you might notice a new logo.
Update September 21st, 12:12PM ET: Added detail about why people might make additional profiles and Meta’s rules about impersonation.
