Don’t think your kids are old enough for smartphones of their own but are happy to let them use yours for a few hours each day? Share a tablet with housemates but find it tedious that you need to log-out of your Facebook Messenger account each time someone else wants to use it? Facebook has just announced that it is now possible to use multiple Messenger accounts on a single device, without the need to go through the laborious process of logging-in and out again every time you need to switch between accounts.
Messages themselves will not be visible to other users of the device, only the number of new messages that each Messenger account has received. So there’s no need to worry about privacy, says TechCrunch in a recent report.
In a statement posted to Facebook, the social media giant assured its users the new feature will make communication more straightforward and is totally secure:
All over the world, hundreds of millions of people share their phones and tablets with members of their family and friends. At Messenger, we want to make communication simpler, more seamless and secure.
The feature is flexible and modifiable, so users can decide if a password is required to enter each specific account (i.e. my account, as some things can’t be unseen) or not (i.e. the kids’ accounts, just to make sure they aren’t chatting with anyone they shouldn’t be).
The procedure for setting up the feature is very straightforward, says Facebook: the first time you switch between one Messenger account and another you will be prompted for your password, but subsequently it is up to the user if a password is required each time or not. It takes just three steps to switch between accounts and everyone’s messages remain private.
It is currently only available for Android devices.
