Meta Accounts Center: What It Is and What It Controls

If you've noticed that changing your password or security settings on Instagram now takes you to a page called Accounts Center, you're not imagining it. Meta has been moving account-level settings for Facebook, Instagram and its other apps into one shared place. It saves time if you use more than one Meta app, but adding accounts together also lets Meta combine information across them, so it's worth understanding before you link anything. Here's what it controls, what it doesn't, and how to undo it.

What Meta Accounts Center does

Meta describes Accounts Center as a place to manage connected experiences, like logging in across your accounts, and to change account settings such as your contact details, ad preferences and payments across them. You can add Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Meta accounts to the same Accounts Center, although WhatsApp support isn't available everywhere.

Settings you manage in Accounts Center

Section	What's in it
Personal details	Contact information, birthday, identity confirmation, memorialisation preferences, delete or deactivate your account
Password and security	Password, two-factor authentication, login alerts, login activity, where you're logged in
Your information and permissions	Contact uploading, search history, browser and cookie preferences, downloading or transferring your information
Ad preferences	Ad topics, advertisers you've seen, ad settings

What stays in each app

Not everything moves. Meta says settings that only affect one app stay in that app's own menu. Examples it gives include Activity Log on Facebook, notifications on Instagram, device settings like dark mode and data usage, and who can see and interact with your posts in a specific app. So if you're looking for a privacy setting for your Facebook posts, it's still in Facebook. The same goes for Instagram notifications, which you still set inside Instagram.

How to open Accounts Center

1. Open Facebook or Instagram and go to Settings (on Instagram, tap the menu on your profile).
2. Tap Accounts Center, usually near the top of the settings screen.
3. Choose the section you need, such as Password and security or Personal details.

You can also go straight to accountscenter.meta.com in a browser and sign in. The layout looks the same whichever app you start from, because it's one shared page.

The trade-off of linking accounts

This is the part to read before you add accounts together. Meta says that once accounts are in the same Accounts Center, it uses information across them to personalise your experience, including personalised ads and suggested accounts to follow across Facebook, Instagram and its other technologies. Some settings also have to match: Meta says ad topic preferences and activity information from ad partners must be the same across every account in one Accounts Center, and it will adjust them to match when you add accounts.

Linked in one Accounts Center	Kept separate
One place for password and security	Manage each account's settings on its own
Easier logging in and sharing across apps	Less information combined across apps
Some ad settings forced to match	Ad settings can differ per account

How to remove an account from Accounts Center

You can remove accounts at any time. Open Accounts Center, go to the accounts section, choose the account and follow the steps to remove it. Meta says a removed account then lives in its own Accounts Center, where you manage its settings separately. One catch: any settings changed while the account was linked, including ones Meta adjusted to match, stay unchanged until you edit them yourself. They don't snap back to what they were before.

Accounts Center vs Meta Accounts

Meta is also introducing Meta Accounts, which build on the same idea. A Meta Account works across apps and devices like Facebook, Instagram, Meta Quest and Meta AI with one set of login details. Meta says they're only available in some places and are rolling out to people individually. Your messages, friends and followers don't change when you move to one, and your feeds stay in their separate apps.

Security settings worth checking today

• Turn on two-factor authentication for every linked account.
• Switch on login alerts so you know when someone signs in.
• Review where you're logged in and log out of devices you don't recognise.
• Check your contact email and phone number are current, so you can recover the account.

If you think someone else has been in your account, my guide on how to know if your Facebook account was hacked walks through the signs. And to plan for the future, see how to set a legacy contact on Facebook.

My verdict

Use Accounts Center for what it's best at: one place to lock down passwords, two-factor authentication and login alerts across your Meta apps. Think twice before adding accounts you want kept apart, such as a business Instagram and a personal Facebook, because linking them shares information and forces some ad settings to match.

Frequently asked questions

What is Meta Accounts Center?

A settings hub for your Facebook, Instagram and other Meta accounts, where you manage passwords, security, personal details, ad preferences and logging in across apps.

Where is Accounts Center on Instagram?

Go to your profile, tap the menu and open Accounts Center near the top of Settings. You can also visit accountscenter.meta.com.

Can I remove an account from Meta Accounts Center?

Yes, at any time. The removed account gets its own Accounts Center, and settings changed while it was linked stay until you change them.

Can I delete my Facebook or Instagram account from Accounts Center?

Yes. Meta says you can delete or temporarily deactivate Facebook, Instagram and Meta accounts through Accounts Center, under Personal details.

Does linking accounts in Accounts Center share my data?

Meta says it uses information across accounts in the same Accounts Center to personalise ads and suggested accounts.