Can You Have Multiple Mastodon Accounts and Stay Logged In to Them on One Computer?

Can you stay signed in to several Mastodon accounts on one computer? #

Yes, if each account is on a different server or sits in its own browser profile. Mastodon is not one website: joinmastodon.org (read 3 October 2026) says you make an account with a provider it calls a server. Each server has its own login page, and the Help Centre's password article tells you to start on the login page of the server that hosts your account. The login page of mastodon.social, for example, asks for mastodon.social credentials and says an account hosted on a different server cannot log in there.

This guide covers Mastodon in a desktop browser. The official pages read for it describe no account switcher in the web interface, so what works comes from how servers and browser profiles behave.

Why each server is its own login #

Mastodon's documentation says the server you pick hosts your account, your profile and your home feed. Four details shape everything else:

• The username has two parts. A local username and the server's domain. The same local username can be registered on different servers, so similar handles may belong to different people.
• You sign in with your e-mail address. The Help Centre says sign-in takes your e-mail address and password, not your username.
• Servers choose how people join. The documentation names three sign-up modes: open sign-up, invite links and approval by a moderator.
• An extra account is not needed to follow people elsewhere. joinmastodon.org says that with an account on your server you can follow any other person on the network, wherever their account is hosted.

Your options on one computer #

The iOS row comes from the Mastodon blog, which says you can "manage multiple logged-in accounts from the Settings screen" in version 2026.02. joinmastodon.org also lists third-party apps for Android, iOS, the web and the desktop.

The advanced web interface is easy to mistake for a switcher. The documentation describes it as a layout that lets you view and pin multiple columns at the same time. That is about columns, not accounts.

Step by step: a second account on the same server #

1. In Chrome, select Profile at the top right, then Add Chrome profile.
2. Choose a name, photo and colour scheme. A name that holds the handle, such as Mastodon - shop - example.social, tells the windows apart.
3. In the new profile, open the login page of the server that hosts the second account.
4. Enter that account's e-mail address and password, then choose Log in.
5. Next time, select Profile and pick the profile you want. Each profile keeps its own sign-in.

Accounts on different servers do not need separate profiles: open each server's login page in its own tab. You can still use one profile per account, because a long list of accounts stays tidier that way.

Chrome's help page adds a warning that matters on a shared PC: someone with your device can switch to any other Chrome profile on it, so share the device only with people you trust.

Numbers worth knowing #

The first two are defaults in the server software, described on a page written for administrators. Servers can differ from all three, so check yours. The pages read state no limit on how many accounts one person may hold.

If it does not work #

1. You are told to log in with credentials from another server. The account lives elsewhere. Open the login page of the server that hosts it.
2. Your username is rejected. Sign in with the e-mail address instead.
3. One account keeps replacing the other in the same window. Move it into its own browser profile.
4. You are asked to sign in again, or a message says your login is disabled. The sign-in problems guide matches each message to its cause.
5. An app has no way to add another account. That depends on the app. Use a browser profile for the second account.

For the idea behind profiles, read what a browser profile is. A private window is only a temporary session, as the comparison with VPNs and private browsing explains.

Where ADSSPEED fits #

ADSSPEED is a desktop app for Windows and macOS built around browser profiles. Every profile keeps its own cookies, local data and browser settings, so the Mastodon accounts you manage can stay signed in side by side without signing each other out. A proxy can be set per profile and assigned to many profiles in bulk, and profiles can be opened, stopped and organised in bulk. Profile data is kept on your own computer. ADSSPEED also offers Android phone profiles, each with its own device configuration, for mobile apps on a PC. ADSSPEED is not affiliated with Mastodon and does not change any server's rules. See how to install ADSSPEED on Windows.