Facebook is testing an option for users to create multiple profiles from a single account, amid an offer by the platform to reactivate user growth.
The feature aims to help users “tailor their experience based on interests and relationships,” Facebook (FB) spokesman Leonard Lam told CNN Business in a statement.
While Facebook prohibits users from having more than one account, the feature would allow them to create up to five profiles on their account to interact with different topics or groups of people. This could involve profiles (and therefore Facebook feeds) designed to interact with close friends versus co-workers, or a profile dedicated to a specific hobby such as gaming. Bloomberg first reported the new feature test on Thursday.
The test comes as Facebook’s parent company Meta is experiencing slow earnings growth and stiff competition from rivals like TikTok, which is fighting for users’ time and attention. In February, Meta shocked investors by recording a rare stagnation in quarterly user growth, a trend that slightly reversed in the first quarter of this year.
Meta is in the midst of transitioning to a company centered on a future “metaverse” with augmented and virtual reality rather than social media. But it needs to continue ranking profits from its existing platforms to fund investments in that vision.
The company has recently been working to further integrate Facebook and Instagram – making it easier for users to discover content and engage with communities between the two platforms, for example by showing Instagram Reels in the Facebook feed.
Users of the new multi-profile feature will be able to create unique names for each profile they create, but will still be subject to Facebook’s rules that prohibit misrepresentation and impersonation of public figures, according to Lam.
People’s top profiles must still abide by the platform’s rule of using the name they regularly pass by. There will also be some Facebook features, such as Facebook Dating and the ability to create a page, only available to users’ main profiles.
If a user violates the platform’s community guidelines on one profile, their entire account will be subject to disciplinary action.
“Anyone using Facebook should continue to follow our rules,” Lam said.
The company is testing the new feature with users in select countries, according to Lam, although he did not specify where or when the option will be widely available.
Source: CNN Brasil
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