Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. 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 main feed on Facebook will now be called “Home,” and will be a place for people to “discover new content” that Facebook thinks that they’ll like, according to a company blog post. That includes photos and videos selected by software algorithms, which will surface content based on users’ interests, from both accounts they follow and those they don’t.
The changes will start Thursday, but the majority of the content will still come from accounts users follow, a Meta spokeswoman said. The company plans to increase the new content it shows over time as it improves the recommendation algorithm.
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.