Facebook Users will soon be able to have up to five profiles linked to one account

Meta is testing a new way for Facebook users to have up to five separate profiles tied to a single account. The company’s spokesperson told TechCrunch on Thursday that the feature is currently being tested with select users on Facebook, as it hopes to increase engagement on the platform.

This is a big shift to Facebook’s longstanding policy that allows users to have only one account with your real name.

Unlike Instagram, which allows users to create multiple accounts and doesn’t require them to use their real names, Facebook has had strict — and often controversial — rules about users’ identities, regularly suspending users it catches using multiple accounts.

In some cases, Facebook will even ask users to verify the name on their profile by providing a copy of an official I.D.

The company is now giving Facebook users the ability create different profiles and dedicate them to the type of group they want to interact with, as one dedicated FB feed exclusively for friends while another for co-workers.

Users who are part of the test will be able to switch between their different profiles in a few taps.

Additional profiles don’t need to include a person’s real name, as users will be able to choose any profile name and username, as long as it is unique and doesn’t use any numbers or special characters.

Meta, however, maintains that a users main profiles must still carry the name they use in everyday life. Plus, additional profiles are still subject to company’s policies and that they can’t misrepresent your identity or impersonate others.

It warns that if you receive a violation on an additional profile, it will impact your account as a whole.

“This rule will help prevent people from abusing its platform across multiple profiles. If someone repeatedly violates the company’s policies using one of their additional profiles, Facebook’s systems will recognize which profile was violating and take appropriate action, such as removing the additional profile or all profiles, including the main account,” says Meta.

The company then notes that there are some parts of Facebook that are only available for user’s main profiles, such as creating and managing a Page or using Facebook Dating.

Considering that a user’s additional profiles are under one Facebook account, the company says the multiple-profile feature won’t change how it reports user metrics, such as monthly and daily active user totals.

As Meta experiments with the new feature, it continues to add new ways to drive engagement on Facebook, while also encouraging users to post and share more content with others.