diff --git a/components/account.js b/components/account.js
index 3a9422454..ae319f0ac 100644
--- a/components/account.js
+++ b/components/account.js
@@ -1,26 +1,21 @@
 import { createContext, useCallback, useContext, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react'
 import { useRouter } from 'next/router'
 import * as cookie from 'cookie'
-import { useMe } from '@/components/me'
 import { USER_ID, SSR } from '@/lib/constants'
 import { USER } from '@/fragments/users'
 import { useQuery } from '@apollo/client'
 import { UserListRow } from '@/components/user-list'
 import Link from 'next/link'
 import AddIcon from '@/svgs/add-fill.svg'
-import { MultiAuthErrorBanner } from '@/components/banners'
 import { cookieOptions, MULTI_AUTH_ANON, MULTI_AUTH_LIST, MULTI_AUTH_POINTER } from '@/lib/auth'
 
 const AccountContext = createContext()
 
-const CHECK_ERRORS_INTERVAL_MS = 5_000
-
 const b64Decode = str => Buffer.from(str, 'base64').toString('utf-8')
 
 export const AccountProvider = ({ children }) => {
   const [accounts, setAccounts] = useState([])
-  const [meAnon, setMeAnon] = useState(true)
-  const [errors, setErrors] = useState([])
+  const [selected, setSelected] = useState(null)
 
   const updateAccountsFromCookie = useCallback(() => {
     const { [MULTI_AUTH_LIST]: listCookie } = cookie.parse(document.cookie)
@@ -39,51 +34,29 @@ export const AccountProvider = ({ children }) => {
     return switchSuccess
   }, [updateAccountsFromCookie])
 
-  const checkErrors = useCallback(() => {
-    const {
-      [MULTI_AUTH_LIST]: listCookie,
-      [MULTI_AUTH_POINTER]: pointerCookie
-    } = cookie.parse(document.cookie)
-
-    const errors = []
-
-    if (!listCookie) errors.push(`${MULTI_AUTH_LIST} cookie not found`)
-    if (!pointerCookie) errors.push(`${MULTI_AUTH_POINTER} cookie not found`)
-
-    setErrors(errors)
-  }, [])
-
   useEffect(() => {
     if (SSR) return
 
     updateAccountsFromCookie()
 
     const { [MULTI_AUTH_POINTER]: pointerCookie } = cookie.parse(document.cookie)
-    setMeAnon(pointerCookie === 'anonymous')
-
-    const interval = setInterval(checkErrors, CHECK_ERRORS_INTERVAL_MS)
-    return () => clearInterval(interval)
-  }, [updateAccountsFromCookie, checkErrors])
+    setSelected(pointerCookie === MULTI_AUTH_ANON ? USER_ID.anon : Number(pointerCookie))
+  }, [updateAccountsFromCookie])
 
   const value = useMemo(
     () => ({
       accounts,
-      meAnon,
-      setMeAnon,
-      nextAccount,
-      multiAuthErrors: errors
+      selected,
+      nextAccount
     }),
-    [accounts, meAnon, setMeAnon, nextAccount])
+    [accounts, selected, nextAccount])
   return <AccountContext.Provider value={value}>{children}</AccountContext.Provider>
 }
 
 export const useAccounts = () => useContext(AccountContext)
 
 const AccountListRow = ({ account, ...props }) => {
-  const { meAnon, setMeAnon } = useAccounts()
-  const { me, refreshMe } = useMe()
-  const anonRow = account.id === USER_ID.anon
-  const selected = (meAnon && anonRow) || Number(me?.id) === Number(account.id)
+  const { selected } = useAccounts()
   const router = useRouter()
 
   // fetch updated names and photo ids since they might have changed since we were issued the JWTs
@@ -103,18 +76,8 @@ const AccountListRow = ({ account, ...props }) => {
 
     // update pointer cookie
     const options = cookieOptions({ httpOnly: false })
-    document.cookie = cookie.serialize(MULTI_AUTH_POINTER, anonRow ? MULTI_AUTH_ANON : account.id, options)
-
-    // update state
-    if (anonRow) {
-      // order is important to prevent flashes of no session
-      setMeAnon(true)
-      await refreshMe()
-    } else {
-      await refreshMe()
-      // order is important to prevent flashes of inconsistent data in switch account dialog
-      setMeAnon(account.id === USER_ID.anon)
-    }
+    const anon = account.id === USER_ID.anon
+    document.cookie = cookie.serialize(MULTI_AUTH_POINTER, anon ? MULTI_AUTH_ANON : account.id, options)
 
     // reload whatever page we're on to avoid any bugs due to missing authorization etc.
     router.reload()
@@ -127,30 +90,16 @@ const AccountListRow = ({ account, ...props }) => {
         className='d-flex align-items-center me-2'
         {...props}
         onNymClick={onClick}
-        selected={selected}
+        selected={selected === account.id}
       />
     </div>
   )
 }
 
 export default function SwitchAccountList () {
-  const { accounts, multiAuthErrors } = useAccounts()
+  const { accounts } = useAccounts()
   const router = useRouter()
 
-  const hasError = multiAuthErrors.length > 0
-
-  if (hasError) {
-    return (
-      <>
-        <div className='my-2'>
-          <div className='d-flex flex-column flex-wrap mt-2 mb-3'>
-            <MultiAuthErrorBanner errors={multiAuthErrors} />
-          </div>
-        </div>
-      </>
-    )
-  }
-
   // can't show hat since the streak is not included in the JWT payload
   return (
     <>
diff --git a/components/banners.js b/components/banners.js
index c938baada..c4edbf0f2 100644
--- a/components/banners.js
+++ b/components/banners.js
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ import { useMutation } from '@apollo/client'
 import { WELCOME_BANNER_MUTATION } from '@/fragments/users'
 import { useToast } from '@/components/toast'
 import Link from 'next/link'
-import AccordianItem from '@/components/accordian-item'
 
 export function WelcomeBanner ({ Banner }) {
   const { me } = useMe()
@@ -124,24 +123,3 @@ export function AuthBanner () {
     </Alert>
   )
 }
-
-export function MultiAuthErrorBanner ({ errors }) {
-  return (
-    <Alert className={styles.banner} key='info' variant='danger'>
-      <div className='fw-bold mb-3'>Account switching is currently unavailable</div>
-      <AccordianItem
-        className='my-3'
-        header='We have detected the following issues:'
-        headerColor='var(--bs-danger-text-emphasis)'
-        body={
-          <ul>
-            {errors.map((err, i) => (
-              <li key={i}>{err}</li>
-            ))}
-          </ul>
-      }
-      />
-      <div className='mt-3'>To resolve these issues, please sign out and sign in again.</div>
-    </Alert>
-  )
-}