The Explosive Growth of Discord
Discord has cemented itself as one of the world‘s most popular communication platforms. The app registers over 150 million active monthly users, drawn in by its fun and intuitive UI, stellar voice chat capabilities, active community ecosystem, and extensive customization options powered by bots.
Originally founded in 2015 as a solution for gamers seeking better team collaboration options, Discord has rapidly expanded beyond its initial core audience. The platform now boasts 56 million daily active users as of 2022 spend an average of 96 minutes each day engaged with their servers and communities [1].
But more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated Discord‘s user growth and use case diversification. With global lockdowns forcing activities online, the app saw a whopping 130% spike in new sign-ups in early 2020 [2]. Schools, enterprises, hobby circles, and other mainstream groups flocked to create their own private servers.
And Discord capitalized on these new digital community spaces via expanded platform monetization offerings. Features like server boosting, premium memberships, stickers and custom emoji now serve as revenue streams beyond gaming. The company is now valued at over $15 billion, with annual revenues on track to exceed $1 billion based on recent figures [3].
The expanded audiences and use cases make clear that Discord is no longer just a chat app for gamers. Its intuitive UI and focus on community creation provide the flexibility for the platform to serve as an online "place" for gatherings of all types.
The Need For Managing Multiple Accounts
As Discord continues maturing into a mainstream social app rivaling the likes of WhatsApp or Telegram, more users find themselves juggling multiple accounts simultaneously. For example, an individual may use:
- One account for core friend group chats
- Another account for collaborating with work teammates
- Several other accounts for separate gaming personalities across different titles
The 2014 "Gamergate" controversy highlighted the risk for women of online harassment when personal and gaming lives intersect [4]. Hence keeping identities and conversations compartmentalized has benefits.
Enterprise adoption of Discord also continues rising. IT departments deploy private servers for secure internal communications between staffers [5]. The preference here is managing a clear separation from any existing personal accounts.
And many hardcore gamers merely use alternate accounts as "smurfs" – secondary IDs separate from their main username. This allows playing ranked games at lower skill levels for warmups without impacting core profiles and matchmaking [6].
Overall, as Discord‘s growth reflects platform stickiness across increasingly disparate use cases, account switching becomes ever more critical.
Why Discord Mobile Lacks Native Account Switching
Unlike the desktop application, Discord‘s mobile experience strangely lacks any direct way to swap accounts or identities. Users are forced into workaround methods of logging completely in and out of their credentials.
When asked about the discrepancy, Discord representatives have generally provided vague acknowledgements about the need to optimize mobile workflows [7]. However, some key reasons account selection remains missing likely include:
UI Design Limitations
Discord‘s mobile interface simply has less screen real estate flexibility relative to PC. While desktop allows a handy account switcher drop-down, similar easy-access toggles prove challenging to incorporate on smaller touchscreen devices.
Prioritizing Engineering Resources
As a maturing startup, Discord still thoughtfully allocates limited engineering talent towards feature improvements. And the team is more focused on capturing mainstream chat app audiences before circling back to power user-centric capabilities.
Reducing Support Tickets
Since the average mobile user manages fewer accounts than desktop veterans, optimizing account switching has lower ROI currently. Simpler workflows yield fewer platform misuse tickets for overwhelmed newer signups.
Future Mobile Feature Parity
Ultimately though, Discord has acknowledged needing to achieve closer feature parity between desktop and mobile [8]. As the latter platform contributes over 90 million MAUs now, it‘s likely only a matter of time before account switching properly debuts.
Until then, users have options…
Method 1: Logging In and Out of Accounts
Overview
The most straightforward approach for swapping Discord accounts on mobile involves fully logging out and logging back in with different credentials.
Steps
Here is the complete walkthrough:
- Open Discord and tap the profile icon on the bottom right
- Scroll down and select Log Out
- Confirm the logout action
- At the login screen, input your other account‘s email and password
- Tap Login to switch accounts!
Limitations
Logging in and out does work reasonably well, albeit with some minor nuisances:
- Having to recall multiple account credentials
- Losing access to open conversations each time
- Only one account usable simultaneously
So while suitable for many, power users desire more seamless options…
Method 2: Cloning Discord via Dual Apps
Overview
More advanced Discord account switching leverages dual space apps that clone other installed programs into isolated environments. This lets you run entirely separate Discord instances side by side.
Popular dual space tools include:
- Dual Space – Android, 100M+ installs
- Parallel Space – Android, 500M+ installs
- Clone App – iOS, 1.4M+ installs
After adding Discord to these apps, you‘ll have two standalone mobile clients logged into different accounts simultaneously!
Steps
Here‘s how to clone Discord for seamless identity swapping:
- Install your preferred dual space app
- Open the app and permit requested permissions
- Find and select the Add App option
- Choose Discord from among your installed apps
- The cloned Discord will appear separately on your home screen
- Launch the cloned app and log in with your other credentials
Advantages
Compared to basic login and logout, cloning Discord via dual apps provides:
- Both accounts stay perpetually logged in
- Conversations persist privately in the background
- Instant switching without losing access
In short, this method facilitates true simultaneous multi-account access that power users need!
Evaluating the Alternatives
Let‘s break down the key pros and cons of each approach:
Logging In and Out
Pros
- Very fast and simple
- Works reliably across all devices
Cons
- Multiple credentials to recall
- Closes active conversations
- Only allows single account at once
Cloning with Dual Apps
Pros
- Both accounts stay logged in
- Background conversations persist
- Easy instant account switching
Cons
- Extra battery and memory usage
- Requires third-party app install
Ultimately, casual users may be fine with basic login and out switching. But for uninterrupted multi-account access, dual-app Discord cloning can‘t be matched!
Expert Predictions – When Will Native Switching Arrive?
Most industry analysts expect Discord to eventually implement simplified account changing options natively across both mobile and desktop.
Drivers leading platform experts to believe formal access delegation tools will arrive include:
-
Mainstream Adoption – Rising non-core user bases have lower technical comfort. Simpler account controls better cater to commercial audiences.
-
Enterprise Compliance – Data privacy and account security grow more pivotal as corporations sign on. Easy audit logging and access review grows essential.
-
Competitive Parity – Rival services like Slack and Microsoft Teams offer robust account administration options. Lacking equivalents gradually becomes unsustainable.
-
Investor Priorities – Recent multi-billion dollar funding rounds likely come with strings attached around commercial-grade security and governance [9].
Given the forces of enterprisation and consumerization pulling Discord towards the mainstream, seasoned technology analysts estimate integrated identity management could debut by mid-2024.
In the interim, users have workarounds…
Extended FAQs
Let‘s expand on the initial account switching FAQ to cover additional pertinent questions:
Do I need separate phone numbers for multiple accounts?
No, Discord doesn‘t require unique phone credentials as long as you avoid advanced account security options. Email addresses must stay different though.
Can I get banned for having too many accounts?
Generally no – having multiple accounts even 10+ doesn‘t directly violate terms. Just avoid very rapidly switching between them or clear misuse.
What are the risks of reusing the same password across accounts?
Password reuse poses serious risks! If one account‘s credentials get compromised from a breach, hackers can access your other accounts too. Always use unique strong passwords for each Discord ID.
Does Discord allow bots and automation for account switching?
No. Automating access or bot-assisted logins run afoul of Discord‘s API terms forbidding simulating user activity without explicit consent. Scripts and bots can still manage notifications and content though.
Can enterprise and personal accounts stay linked?
Discord doesn‘t support federating enterprise single sign-on identities with existing personal accounts currently. Full separation is recommended instead for privacy and permissions simplicity.
Will cloning Discord get me banned?
No, cloning itself doesn‘t constitute a terms of services violation – as long as both accounts obey all usage guidelines individually. Discord does prevent modified or forked client versions connecting though.
The Future Is Multi-Account Friendly
Exciting possibilities await as Discord continues evolving! With niche gamer chat app roots transcended, the platform now serves as the connective tissue for online communities spanning gaming, enterprise, education, healthcare and beyond [10].
But successfully catering to higher-value mainstream audiences rests on providing robust security and access controls. That likely includes formal user account delegation and reviewing tools unavailable currently.
Until then, techniques like dual-app cloning approximate enterprise-grade login agility demanded of modern collaboration apps. And they offer flexibility for individuals wanting to compartmentalize conversations too!
So whether you need to securely separate work and fun or maintain distinct gaming personas, Discord can support effective account switching on mobile. Power users simply await the day this functionality gets officially sanctioned!
References
- Discord Q1 2022 Company Metrics Report
- Discord 2020 Growth Statistics (Forbes)
- Discord Valuation Hits $15 Billion After New Funding Round (Business Insider)
- Discord Has Become the Place Where Online Harassment of Women Thrives (Fortune)
- How Discord Is Becoming the Next Enterprise Social Network (CMS Wire)
- Smurfing: What Is It and Why Do Gamers Hate It? (Microsoft)
- Future Discord Mobile Feature Plans (Wired)
- Discord Rep Comments on Mobile Experience Gaps
- Discord Raises $500M Series H Funding (TechCrunch)
- Can Discord Be Used for Therapy? (Healthline)
