Meta is revamping its cross-app management system

Meta on Thursday announced an improved Meta account system designed to make it easier for users to log in and manage their Meta accounts and devices.

Today, the Meta ecosystem has become so expansive that it seems unwieldy — users may have different accounts, different logins for Facebook, WhatsApp, Meta AI Glasses, and more. While the Account Center already simplifies this experience, the Meta Account System aims to simplify it even further. The company says that this new system will be launched next year.

With a Meta account, users can choose to set up a single password that applies to all their accounts within the Meta ecosystem – and these logins can also be protected with passkeys, which use fingerprints, facial recognition, or device passwords to access accounts. Meta says the Meta account will also come with security recommendations to help users stay on top of multi-factor authentication, as well as login alerts across their devices.

“Settings that apply across Meta apps and devices are managed in one place through your Meta account — similar to how Account Center works today,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Now, more settings can be managed centrally this way, including your password, two-factor authentication, and the email address associated with your account. Since these settings don’t change from one app to another, you don’t have to update them separately.”

The Meta Account will also help parents more easily supervise teens’ behavior across apps, so it’s no longer necessary to switch between different apps. From the Family Center dashboard in their Meta account, parents will be able to manage their Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and Meta Horizon settings in the same place.

“The app-specific settings remain independently managed so you can also customize your experiences for each. These kinds of choices are personal to how you use each app, so they’re where you’d expect: within the app itself,” Mita explained. “For example, deciding who can see your Facebook posts is a Facebook setting. Likewise, whether someone can tag you in a photo on Instagram is an Instagram setting.”

Setting up a Meta account doesn’t force users to link all of their accounts, though — if a user wants to keep their logins separate, they can do so. Users can also choose to add or remove accounts from their overall Meta account at any time.