Facebook is competing with Reddit by launching nicknames for Facebook groups

Facebook Groups are becoming more similar to Reddit with the newly added support for Nicknames. The feature, which allows users to post under a custom username instead of their real names, provides an alternative to posting anonymously. Through anonymous posting, users can share without linking the post to their Facebook profile and real identity, but this approach also does not allow other group members to recognize them or their personality, or follow their updates over time.

Meta says nicknames will allow people to participate in groups more personally while maintaining privacy, especially in groups where users want privacy but still want to build a recognizable presence. It could also make Facebook groups act more like other online forums and message boards — like Reddit or Discord, for example — where people post under usernames. This represents a departure from Facebook The long-standing “real name” policy, Which insisted that people appear on the platform with the name they use in daily life.

This policy worked when Facebook was largely a social network built around real-life relationships with family and friends, but the addition of Facebook Groups expanded users’ circles of interactions to include strangers online, necessitating greater privacy protections.

After users in a group customize their nickname, they can then post, comment, and interact under that nickname within groups that support the feature. This allows users to hide their main profile and profile picture from other members but not from group admins, moderators, or Facebook’s own systems.

However, others in the group will be able to view the user’s full posting history under their nickname in that group, as well as comments and reactions made in the group over the past seven days.

Facebook will suggest nicknames for users, but users can change this nickname to a nickname of their choice. The name must match Facebook Community standards It cannot actually be used by another member of the group. The company will also suggest a profile picture for the nickname, though users can choose their own from among the available ones, along with selecting a colored background.

To access this feature, users will find the option next to “Post Anonymously” when creating a post and then select the option to customize the nickname. The option to use a nickname can be turned off at any time, allowing users to post under their real name again.

While users can change their nickname, they can only do so once every two days. Additionally, changing the nickname does not allow users to distance themselves from previous posts and comments. Instead, when they change their new nickname, it will be applied to their previous posts, comments and interactions, although this may take time to appear across devices and groups. If users have different nicknames in different groups, changing the name will only affect posts, comments, and interactions in the group associated with that specific nickname.

The company says users with nicknames cannot use some features like live video, content sharing, or private messaging. Users can block others by nickname as well.

The feature is available globally but requires group admin approval to enable it in each group.