In this article
In a public group or under a channel post you can write as one of your channels instead of as yourself. The message appears with the channel's name and picture, and your personal account is not shown.
It is the same mechanism admins use to post anonymously, and it is genuinely useful — provided you are clear about what it hides and from whom.
What you will be able to do
- check_circle Post in a group or comment as a channel rather than as you.
- check_circle Switch identity for one message and back again.
- check_circle Understand who can still work out who you are.
- check_circle Use it for the right reasons.
The identity selector sits beside the message box, and it is per-chat rather than global.
switch_account Writing as something rather than someone
The selector next to the message box lets you choose which of your identities is sending: your account, or any channel you control. In comment threads under channel posts it is the normal way for a publication to reply to its own readers without a person's name attached.
What this buys is separation. A person running a project can answer in its voice without their personal profile being clicked on by every reader, and without the project becoming identified with one individual.
What it does not buy is anonymity in a meaningful sense. The channel is a public object with a history and often an owner people can guess at, and the platform itself knows exactly which account wrote the message. It is a persona, not a mask.
Four uses, one misunderstanding
The last tab is the one worth reading before you rely on this.
campaign The project answers
admin_panel_settings Enforcing a rule
link The name is a link
warning What this is not
A persona, not a mask. Use it so the role can speak; never so the person can hide.
settings Switching identity
- Open a public group or a comment thread Where the selector is offered.
- Tap the identity control beside the message box Your account and your channels are listed.
- Choose the channel The choice is remembered for that chat.
- Check before you send The preview shows which name is going out.
- Switch back deliberately A personal reply sent as a channel reads oddly.
- For a group, set anonymous admin instead In the administrator settings, with a custom title.
This page is switching identity for a message. The curriculum step is running that arrangement properly: anonymous admin roles, custom titles, signed and unsigned channel posts, and keeping a personal account out of a public function.
At a glance
- 1Post as a channel
Choose your channel as the sender in groups and comments.
- 2Switch per message
Tap the avatar beside the input to change identity.
- 3Not anonymous
People who know who runs the channel still know it is you.
Updated
