What’s the difference between my Facebook account and profile?
Your Facebook account
You have to create a Facebook account in order to use Facebook. Your account is where you’ll:
- Enter information about yourself like the name you go by in everyday life, email, mobile phone number, date of birth and gender. You may be asked to confirm that this name is the name you’re known by. Learn more about names on Facebook.
- Create a password to log into your account and access your main profile.
Your main profile
Your main profile is the profile you create when you sign up for a Facebook account. Your main profile is required and can only be deleted if you delete your Facebook account. This profile represents you on Facebook and is a place where you can share information about yourself (example: your interests, photos, videos, current city and hometown). It’s also where you’ll:
- Use the name you go by in everyday life.
- Access certain features like Facebook Dating or Messenger Kids.
- Upload your mobile contacts.
- Manage certain settings like how people can find and contact you using your contact information.
- Access Pages that you manage as an admin.
- Manage your account settings such as:
- Account information: Your contact information, language preferences, payment information and other general information about your account.
- Security: Login information, apps and websites connected to your account and off-Facebook activity.
- Ads: Ad preferences to control how data influences the ads you see.
