diff --git a/app/app.go b/app/app.go
index f2beb32..406e8c2 100644
--- a/app/app.go
+++ b/app/app.go
@@ -70,12 +70,15 @@ func (app *Application) startTor(torPath string) error {
 
 // SetProfile loads an existing profile from the given filename.
 func (app *Application) SetProfile(filename string, password string) error {
-	profile, err := peer.LoadCwtchPeer(path.Join(app.directory, filename), password)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
+	if app.Peer == nil {
+		profile, err := peer.LoadCwtchPeer(path.Join(app.directory, filename), password)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		app.Peer = profile
+		return app.startPeer()
 	}
-	app.Peer = profile
-	return app.startPeer()
+	return errors.New("profile is already loaded, to load a different profile you will need to restart the application")
 }
 
 func (app *Application) startPeer() error {