Profile Switching
Giving people the freedom to be more than one thing on Facebook — pseudonymous profiles with real connections, secure switching, and enhanced privacy.
01 — Onboarding
Removing The Friction
In order to encourage users to build an additional profile the process had to feel personable and informative. Finding the right balance between perceived value and low stakes commitment was key to encouraging users to explore past the initial point of entry.
“Existing relationships provide immediate value to a new profile.”
To avoid shallow sessions (incomplete or inaccurate feeds) new profiles are encouraged to connect with a handful of existing friends and/or groups. These existing relationships provide immediate value to a new profile by populating feeds with relevant content and helping them to drive engagement and retention.
02 — Switching & Privacy
Building Bridges
Making it fast and intuitive to switch between accounts was key to ensuring that new profiles weren’t lost or abandoned. Controlling the flow of information between profiles was also of paramount importance. We went to great lengths to guarantee that pseudonymous identities were secure and could rely on enhanced privacy controls.
Impact
Additional profiles represented a paradigm shift for Facebook at a time when competition for community growth was heating up. These profiles helped to unlock new potential within Facebook Groups and saw user retention increase along with satisfaction for the communities product.
Recognition
Named as an inventor on patent application 18/057,864 — “Systems and Methods For Generating Pseudonym Profiles.”
Learn more about additional profiles