Following sustained demand from users, the Facebook app on Android and iOS has finally restored the chronological feed from friends and Groups. Facebook's 'Home' tab shows an algorithmic feed of 'top stories' rather than a chronological one, frustrating users everywhere. While some complain about missing important posts from their friends and Groups, others claim that the News feed very often includes nothing of interest for them. The latest change is now likely to stop some of these complaints.
Facebook remains the world's largest social media site despite the growing popularity of other platforms like TikTok, Snapchat and Meta's own Instagram. According to data from Statista, the platform had 2.93 billion monthly active users as of the first quarter of 2022, having surpassed the two billion figure mark back in 2017. What's surprising is that Facebook's popularity remains seemingly undiminished despite several controversies over the years. The platform is most popular in India, where it has almost 330 million users, while the U.S. accounts for 179 million. Facebook also has a large number of users in Brazil and Indonesia.
The Facebook app on Android and iOS has been updated to include a 'Feeds' tab at the top of the homepage. This is in addition to the existing Home, Friends, Watch, and Notifications tabs that were already part of the app prior to the update. Announcing the change, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the addition of a chronological feed was "one of the most requested features for Facebook" as it would help make sure that users don't miss posts from their friends.
Algorithmic Recommendations Remain The Default
It is worth noting that the app would still open to the default algorithmic personalized feed on the Home tab, which will continue to show Facebook's content recommendations based on the user's prior interactions with news, posts, and other content on the platform. However, the Feeds tab will give users a way to control their experience on Facebook, and one that will no doubt be appreciated by millions of users around the world.
Facebook's algorithmic News Feed has often been criticized by users for dishing out irrelevant and unwanted content. It has also sometimes been accused of spreading misinformation and fake news, despite Facebook's repeated assurances of fact-checking. The new Feeds tab will now hopefully reduce some of those concerns and offer users a way to easily catch up with friends without having to shuffle through tons of unrelated content. Unfortunately, the Facebook Feeds tab will still contain ads, which might sour the user experience somewhat.
Source: Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook, Statista