Meta is changing Facebook, Instagram to look more like its trendier rival TikTok. See what's new

Facebook and Instagram users may be in a for a surprise, albeit a good one. Meta Platforms Inc. has announced that it is changing how Facebook users share posts and videos on it. All this, in an attempt to attract more users as Facebook’s user growth has stalled in recent years, as per reports.

Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg on July 21 announced, “we’re making it easier for you to control what content you see and discover on Facebook. We’re introducing Feeds, a new tab that lets you easily see the most recent posts from your friends, Pages and groups.” 

“You can curate a Favorites list of the friends and Pages you care about most and filter their content in this new tab. We’re also naming the primary tab — the first thing you see when you open the app — Home. Home is the starting point for connection, entertainment and discovery on Facebook,” Meta shared.

According to Bloomberg report, the Facebook parent company is changing the way it shows users posts and videos on its flagship social network, part of an effort to get people to watch content from accounts they don’t already follow and better compete with the video app TikTok.

The report suggests that the main feed on Facebook will now be called “Home” and will be a place for people to “discover new content” that users may like. According to a company blog post, the changes will include photos and videos selected by software algorithms, which will surface content based on users’ interests, from both accounts they follow and even those they don’t follow. 

Additionally, Instagram shared a blogpost on July 21 notifying, “we're announcing new features to Instagram that make it more fun and easy to collaborate, create and share reels. We’re expanding our tools for Remix to help enhance the way you tell stories on Instagram when collaborating with your favorite creators and friends.”

According to the Bloomberg report, Meta plans to increase the new content it shows over time as it improves the recommendation algorithm. Interestingly, a new tab, called “Feeds,” will exclusively show posts from friends, family, pages and groups that a person has chosen to follow, with the most recent content at the top. The company further shared that “your Home tab is uniquely personalized to you," adding that, "this system takes into account thousands of signals to help cut through the clutter and rank content in the order we think you will find most valuable.”

It is worth noting that Facebook’s user growth has stalled in recent years in the United States and Europe and is reportedly working to attract younger audience, the Bloomberg report said. While competitor TikTok well known for its younger audience, reportedly witnessed significant rise in its number of users and time spent by users on the app. All of this apparently has led Zuckerberg acknowledging TikTok’s success in recent earnings calls, while additionally pushing his own version of TikTok-like short-form videos, popularly known as Reels, on both Facebook and Instagram, the Bloomberg report said. 

(With inputs from Bloomberg)