Instagram Makes Switching Mobile Accounts A Reality

Finally following Facebook’s lead, Instagram will now let you switch accounts when using the app on Android and iOS.

In addition, with the latest version of Instagram’s app, people can now add up to five accounts, and switch between them without having to log out and back in.

I never understood the odd pace at which Instagram added practical features that already exist on Facebook. In many such cases, the network seems to be discouraging desktop use. On my PC, for instance, Instagram still doesn’t let me view pictures in which I’ve been tagged.

That’s obviously not the case with account switching, however. If anything, its absence has discouraged mobile use.

The change -- which should encourage greater usage among existing members -- couldn’t come soon enough.

Indeed, as a fresh forecast from eMarketer shows, Instagram’s boom years are now ancient history. Far off its nearly 60% annual growth rate in 2014, the network grew its U.S. user rate by about 20% in 2015, and is expected to expand by about 15% this year. Continuing Instagram's decline, its annual growth will shrink to just 4.2% by 2020, eMarketer expects.

advertisement

advertisement

However, the just-announced change should promote greater usage by brands and agencies managing multiple accounts -- and, in turn, boost’s Instagram’s bottom line.

By 2017, Instagram’s ad revenue is on track to reach $2.39 billion, according to recent estimates from eMarketer. By then, the mobile-first social network should represent nearly a third -- or 28% -- of Facebook’s total mobile ad revenues.

Next story loading loading..