Meta is willing to their two social networks (Facebook and Instagram) be used indistinctly by its users in a more natural and simple way, for which it has developed a simpler way of switching between the two, almost like someone who has two accounts on the same network and switches between both profiles (for example, one personal and another professional).
The user could switch from the Facebook profile to the Instagram profile with the utmost ease
Everything is based on link profiles between Facebook and Instagram accounts that have the same user through the Meta Account Center, a space that centralizes the management of the different profiles in both social networks. With this space, Meta offers what it calls “a connected experience”, unifying identity across both platforms.
At the moment this option is in the testing phase, that is, it is not the definitive version, but it is available to any user of both social networks through the two major mobile operating systems, iOS and Android, as well as through web browser for those accessing from a computer.
Related to this improvement in the centralized management of profiles on its social networks, Meta has also worked to facilitate the creation and management of multiple accounts allowing it to be done from existing profiles on both Facebook and Instagram. This avoids having to start from scratch when creating a new account and is very useful for accounts related to or dependent on a main account, such as companies, associations or organisations.
Meta does not hide that with this it also tries to prevent users from maintaining a single “real” identity (that of the individual) and that if they need to create other profiles (company, hobby, activity…) are all detached from the real individual behind them.
Lastly, there is criticism of this interconnection between the different Meta platforms, which suggests that it would be a strategy aimed at making it difficult for regulatory bodies in the future to force the company to be spun off and even sell part of it (for example, that Meta comes off Instagram) for abuse of position dominance.
Technically it would be very complex to do so if they become interconnected over time, something that already happens with the possibility of sending messages to Instagram users from Facebook Messenger and vice versa. A path that could continue advancing if the integration of instant messaging with WhatsApp, also owned by Meta, is added to that mix.
