Instagram mulls iPhone widget for easier account switching

By Trevor Mogg Published July 20, 2021

Instagram could be about to make it a whole lot easier to switch between multiple accounts on the iPhone.

Lots of folks on the popular social media service juggle two or more accounts, perhaps for private and business matters, or ones that focus on different personal interests.

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Now the Facebook-owned company is working on a widget for the home screen that will let you quickly select a particular Instagram account before you even open the app, according to Silicon Valley insider and prominent leaker Alessandro Paluzzi.

Paluzzi this week shared a number of images showing several different versions of the widget, which has enough space to let you move between up to four Instagram accounts with a single tap.

Alessandro Paluzzi

At the current time, switching between accounts involves tapping on the profile button at the bottom right of the display to go to your profile, then tapping on your username at the top of the display, and finally selecting the account you want to access. On more recent iPhones it’s also possible to long-press the profile button to surface your different accounts.

While the current method for switching between accounts isn’t particularly laborious, the widget-based method could prove to be a whole lot smoother and more efficient. Moreover, it would let you jump right into your desired account rather than opening the Instagram app first and then selecting another account.

It should be noted that at the current time the feature appears to be in the build stage, meaning it might never see the light of day. However, there’s a good chance it’ll advance to a public test phase, and if that goes well it could become a permanent feature of Instagram for iPhone. We’ll keep you posted.

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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