Facebook is moving away from the longstanding requirement to use “real names”. Meta, the parent company of the world’s largest social media platform, may gradually allow users to keep up to five profiles linked to a single Facebook account.

Meta issued a statement via email to TechCrunch, where Facebook spokesperson Leonard Lam said:

We’re testing a way for people to have multiple profiles linked to a single Facebook account to help people tailor their experiences to interests and relationships. Everyone who uses Facebook must continue to follow our rules

All additional profiles, except the main profile, do not require the inclusion of an actual username. Users will be able to choose any profile name and username as long as it is unique. Special characters and numbers are not allowed in the profile name. But Facebook insists that a user’s primary profile should still use the name they use in their daily lives.

New profiles must not misrepresent the identity of the primary account holder. Also, users should not try to impersonate others. Any user violating the rules when creating and using additional profiles will be negatively impacted by the main account.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has said how or how it will punish criminals. However, repeat offenders run the risk of having one or all profiles terminated, including temporary suspension or permanent ban of the primary account. It seems that the social media giant has internal systems to figure out which profile is breaking the rules and is trained to “take appropriate action”.

Some features are limited to the main profile, such as creating and managing a Page or using Facebook Dating. In other words, users are prohibited from trying to meet more than one person using different profiles.

Facebook allows multiple profiles to help users keep different contacts for specific groups they want to connect with. In other words, users can easily keep personal accounts for their family and friends away from their professional colleagues and acquaintances. In addition, users will be able to better organize their interests, preferences and content.

Meta has confirmed that the cross-platform feature will not change the way it reports user metrics, such as monthly and daily active users. The company is currently testing this feature with a select few users in select countries. Since this is an experimental feature, perhaps Facebook might drop the idea if it feels the risks outweigh the benefits.