Technology

If you're used to seeing posts from friends and Pages as soon as you open Facebook, that experience is about to change. Meta is experimenting with a new approach in India, where you'll see full-screen Reels directly upon opening the app. However, the old home feed isn't completely gone. So, is the user experience about to change? Let's understand the ins and outs...

Expansion

If you use Facebook, your experience is about to change. Meta is testing a new Reels-first avatar of its Facebook app in India. According to a report, some Facebook users in India are seeing full-screen Reels directly as soon as they open their app, instead of the old photo-text feed of friends, pages or groups. This means that as soon as they open the app, users are faced with video content instead of the traditional post feed. However, in this test, Facebook's traditional feed is not being removed. This means that the familiar feed will still be available.

Reels can be seen as soon as the app is opened

As part of this ongoing test in India, Facebook's initial experience has become Reels-centric for some users. Full-screen videos appear directly upon opening the app, bringing Facebook's interface closer to Instagram's video-first experience. This change is being tested specifically for users who prefer to consume more video content.

Facebook is preparing to become video-centric

This test follows earlier comments by Facebook CEO Tom Ellison, who said that people now prefer watching videos over text or photos on social media. Ellison stated that people now want more visual and video content. Video has become the place where people interact, build communities, and even shop. He also hinted that if this experiment is successful in India, the company will expand it to the US and the rest of the world.

The role of Reels on Facebook is constantly increasing

Similarly to Instagram, Facebook is also emphasizing Meta Reels. The company announced that in 2025, new videos uploaded to Facebook, regardless of their length or format, will be shared as Reels.

Additionally, Meta renamed Facebook's video tab to Reels, clearly reflecting the platform's prioritization of video and Reels.

Will the old Facebook feed change?

This new experiment in India indicates that Meta is now trying to understand how effective a video-first model can be on an older, larger social network like Facebook. However, the traditional feed isn't being removed for now. So, users who prefer a feed of standard posts from friends, Pages, and groups will still have that experience.