Facebook is equipped with its own unique login platform which allows people to access different apps without using a different username and password. However, with newer generations being more attracted to Instagram, the feature is not as useful. So Instagram wants to test a main account feature and use account linking to strengthen the connection with younger users.
According to a report by TechCrunch, the main account feature and account linking are in development, which would succeed the Facebook login platform. It’s no secret that people run multiple Instagram accounts for both personal and commercial needs. Using account linking, users could choose a main account which would be in charge of other accounts. If the feature proves successful, users would only need to remember one username and password they’d use for login.
Adding a main Instagram account could also prove useful for the third-party apps, which are widely used for managing content like feed, comments, metrics and other features.
TechCrunch got the code for account linking in the Android app alpha version’s APK files provided by the social media researcher Ishan Agarwal. According to the code: “Quickly and securely log in to all of your Instagram accounts with one ID and password . . . Make one of your accounts your main account and use it to log in to all of your other accounts at once . . . Your accounts will remain separate but logging in will be fast and simple . . . Anyone who has the password for your main account will have access to the accounts connected to it.”
Instagram didn’t comment regarding the code TechCrunch shared. However, it’s usual that the code in the patent turns out to be reality in the future, according to TechCrunch. A similar situation happened with other features like video calling, soundtracks and more, which were spotted in the app’s code that was shared by different social media researchers and tipsters.
Seeing Instagram Account linking succeeding Facebook could change how things work on the web. It already did when the Facebook login platform was initiated and allowed us to register on various websites using our information from Facebook. More importantly, this feature allowed Facebook to grow as a network. While some users don’t spend as much time on Facebook anymore, they use it to access other popular services like Spotify, Netflix or online shops which allow logging in through the Facebook platform.
Facebook had no real competition with account linking, such as Google, which is less frequently used for account linking due to two-factor authentication and other security features used for protection. With Instagram succeeding Facebook, it just strengthens the tech giant’s presence on the web, especially because younger people tend to spend more time on Instagram, rather than its parent app.
