Can you get banned for having 2 Facebook accounts?

Having more than one Facebook account is against Facebook’s Terms of Service. However, many people create and maintain multiple accounts for different purposes. This raises the question – can you actually get banned from Facebook for having two accounts?

Why do people have multiple Facebook accounts?

There are a few common reasons why someone may end up with more than one Facebook account:

Separating personal and professional contacts – Some people like to have one account for connecting with friends and family, and a separate account for work colleagues and professional networking.

Operating pages or groups – To manage a Facebook page or group, you need to create a separate account just for administering that entity.
Security and privacy – Having multiple accounts can allow you to segregate different aspects of your life and share less publicly.
Gaming and apps – Some mobile games and apps require a Facebook account to sign in. Creating a separate gaming account prevents your personal profile from being overloaded with game notifications and app activity.

Curiosity – People sometimes create experimental accounts just to see what the Facebook experience is like from a clean slate.

While against the stated rules, many people find it useful or necessary to maintain more than one account. But this raises the risk of being banned if Facebook discovers you operate multiple profiles.

What does Facebook’s policy say about multiple accounts?

Facebook’s Terms of Service explicitly prohibits maintaining more than one account:

You will not create more than one personal account.¹

And their Community Standards expand on this:

Maintaining multiple accounts for the same user is considered deceptive.²

The rationale behind this rule is that each person should have just one main account that represents their true identity. Having multiple accounts violates the integrity of Facebook’s service and makes it harder to connect with real people.

Will Facebook definitely ban you for having a second account?

Just because it’s against the rules does not mean everyone with multiple accounts actually gets banned. Here are some key points on enforcement of this policy:

It’s impossible for Facebook to uniformly detect and shut down every secondary account – There are over 2 billion monthly active Facebook users. Identifying duplicate accounts among so many people is technically challenging.
Many secondary accounts go unnoticed for a long time – As long as you don’t do anything too suspicious, like constantly switching between two accounts or using duplicate contact info, Facebook may never flag your second profile.
Bans seem targeted at more egregious abuses – People who create inauthentic accounts for spamming, scams, spreading misinformation, or harassing others are more likely to have action taken against them.

Facebook mainly relies on user reports – Most account bans start with another user noticing and reporting suspicious behavior to Facebook.

Based on public complaints, it seems Facebook bans are not handed out lightly just for having a secondary profile. There are bigger priorities, and casual personal accounts tend to get overlooked.

When could a second account get banned?

Although not universally enforced, here are some scenarios where having a second account is more likely to elicit enforcement action:

Using duplicate contact info across accounts – If you register multiple accounts with the same email or phone number, this raises an obvious red flag.
Rapidly switching between accounts – If you repeatedly alternate between logging in to two accounts, especially from the same device, this activity pattern stands out.
Impersonation – Maintaining a fake or duplicate account pretending to be someone else is more likely to get reported and banned.

Misrepresentation – Using misleading information or a fake name on a second account makes it more suspicious.
Abusive behavior – Accounts used for harassment, bullying, spamming, scamming, or spreading misinformation are priorities for banning.

Essentially, any secondary accounts that appear inauthentic or engage in policy-violating behavior face a higher risk of enforcement action. Just having a basic secondary profile is lower risk.

How to reduce your risk of getting banned

If you want to minimize the chances of having your secondary Facebook account disabled, here are some tips:

Use different contact info – Register accounts with different email addresses and phone numbers.
Avoid linking accounts – Don’t friend your secondary account or follow it from your primary profile.

Separate usage – Stick to accessing one account at a time from a given device and browser.
Build out each profile – Maintain real activity and connections on each account so they look authentic.
Add a profile photo – Use a different but still legitimate photo of yourself on each account.

Don’t impersonate – Obviously don’t pretend to be someone else.
Follow policies – Ensure all your activity on each account abides by Facebook’s rules.

With reasonable precautions, you can reduce the likelihood of Facebook realizing you have two accounts. But understand that it’s never guaranteed you won’t get caught.

What happens when Facebook disables an account?

If Facebook does detect your secondary account violates their rules, here is the typical enforcement process:

Account disabled – You will be logged out and your account will be suspended with a notice it’s in violation of Terms of Service.
Appeal window – For approximately 30 days after disabling your account, you will have the option to appeal the ban.

Review period – During the appeal window, a Facebook rep will review your case if you provide additional context on why you need the account.
Account deleted – If you don’t successfully appeal, after the window expires your account and all data will be permanently deleted.

So if your secondary account gets banned, you do have a final opportunity to explain yourself and potentially get it reinstated. But there is no guarantee the appeal will work.

Can you get around the two account limit?

For those determined to maintain more than one Facebook account, people have come up with workarounds like:

Using a nickname on one account
Registering with middle initial on one account

Using a maiden name on one account
Putting a middle name in the first name field

Tricky registration tactics like these may temporarily circumvent Facebook’s duplicate detection. But you could still get caught later if you don’t take precautions to keep the accounts completely separate.

What happens if you get banned entirely from Facebook?

Instead of just disabling one duplicate account, in some cases Facebook may ban your primary account and all associated accounts. This is reserved for severe and repeated violations of policies.

If you receive a total ban, you will lose access to all profiles and will not be allowed to open a new Facebook account. A full ban is difficult to overturn unless you can demonstrate it was done in error.

Conclusion

In summary, having multiple Facebook accounts does violate the platform’s rules. However, bans appear targeted at more clear cut abuses, rather than casually maintained secondary profiles.

To minimize risk, keep your accounts segregated, build them out naturally, and avoid policy violations. Understand though that Facebook disabling one or all of your accounts remains a possibility.

For most people, the benefits of having an additional account can outweigh the small risk of enforcement. But make sure to use secondary profiles responsibly and not for any unethical purposes.