Facebook trials new feature linking accounts to Instagram, LinkedIn and Snapchat profiles

The links appear as large buttons, and allow a user’s entire online presence to be tracked down almost instantly

Whether or not it ever sees a site-wide rollout remains to be seen, but it isn’t difficult to imagine it raising yet more privacy concerns amongst users (Reuters)

Facebook is testing a new feature that makes it easier for your friends to track you down on rival social networks.

The site has started displaying prominent links to some users’ other social media accounts, including Instagram, Skype, Pinterest, Twitter, VKontakte, LinkedIn, Snapchat and YouTube.

They appear as large buttons, which sit high up on users’ profiles between the Featured Photos section and About/Photos/Friends menu bar, allowing a user’s entire online presence to be accessed almost instantly.

Facebook users have long been able to include links to their other social media profiles in their About section, but this feature appears to take any note of subtlety away.

Mark Zuckerberg’s recently published manifesto pointed at the site’s shift in focus from connecting friends and family to “developing the social infrastructure for community”, and this feature certainly seems to support this.

Facebook only appears to be testing the feature on its iOS and Android app for now, with the tool seemingly unavailable on desktop.

The Next Web’s Matt Navarra posted a screenshot of the feature on Facebook’s iOS app over the weekend, and feedback from a number of web users suggests that it has been in the testing phase “for some time”.

Whether or not it ever sees a site-wide rollout remains to be seen, but it isn’t difficult to imagine it raising yet more privacy concerns amongst users.

Facebook is also testing a feature called Discover People, which encourages users to befriend people they don’t actually know.