Despite being the subject of antitrust investigations in the US and EU, Facebook today is rolling out a new feature that highlights the extent to which its suite of apps now operates. This morning, the company introduced a consumer tool called Accounts Center, which is found in the settings section of Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
Facebook Account Center feature and its most important functions
The feature aims to give users the ability to manage their connected experiences via Facebook-owned apps, like single sign-on and Facebook Pay, for example.
In the Accounts Center, users will be able to optionally turn on or off Single Sign-On, an authentication option that lets you do things like use your Facebook account information to log into Instagram or to restore your accounts.
And in the new settings area, you’ll also be able to make adjustments to how you post your stories — for example, whether you want your stories to be posted to Facebook and Instagram at the same time.
Although not available at launch, Facebook says it will add Facebook Pay to the Accounts Center later this year. In the US, you will then be able to enter your payment information in one place, and then use it across both Facebook and Instagram when you make purchases, such as in the new Facebook and Instagram Stores, or when making donations.
Facebook says users who choose to use the Account Center will not have to publicly use the same identity across all apps. You can, for example, continue to use a personal Facebook profile while using Instagram to promote your business or hobbies.
But the feature will likely be more useful for those who maintain the same identity across platforms, as you can do things like sync your profile picture across apps.
However, the new feature highlights the extensive data collection that Facebook has created via its various apps. In a blog post, Facebook clearly explains that it uses information from its suite of apps to personalize your experience, including the ads you are shown.
In other words, even if you generally maintain different identities on more than one app, Facebook is aggregating your data behind the scenes. This allows it to maintain its market dominance in social media and potentially stifle new competition. This issue has been at the forefront of the US government’s antitrust investigations, which are still ongoing.
Without regulators’ intervention, Facebook won’t slow down in its plans to make its suite of apps more interoperable on the largest number of devices and users.
This summer, for example, it began testing integration of Instagram and Messenger chats. These efforts continue today.
Facebook says testing of the new Account Center will begin this week across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
