Facebook Makes Changes to The Newsfeed Again, And we Have Lost Count Now

Facebook, arguably the most popular social network in the world, just can’t seem to come up with the right ingredients for the Newsfeed. Yet again, and quite frankly we have lost count now, Facebook is making changes that will dictate what we see on the Newsfeed when we open the Facebook app on our phones or log in on a web browser. But hey, this time around, Facebook says they are making these changes based on what people have said in personal surveys about what they want to see or don’t want to see on their Facebook Newsfeed.

“Today, we are announcing two ranking updates based on surveys we’ve conducted: one prioritizes the friends someone might want to hear from most and the other prioritizes the links a person might consider most worthwhile,” says Facebook in an official statement.

The first change is that you will now see more content from close friends, at least what Facebook categorizes as close friends based on your interaction with your friends on the platform. Some of the new elements that will dictate this choice include being tagged in photos, reacting or commenting on each other’s posts and even checking in at the same locations. Till now, Facebook was using metrics such as how often you interact with a given friend, how many mutual friends you have and whether you have marked someone as a close friend.

But this is where things get a bit confusing. “This doesn’t mean News Feed will be limited to posts from only certain people and it doesn’t mean you will necessarily see more friend content. Rather, you will likely see posts from those you have close relationships with higher up in your News Feed,” says Facebook. Anyway.

The second change is with regards to the links that you see on your Newsfeed, which take you to a different website or piece of content. The new algorithms will prioritize the links that may be the most relevant for you, based on your usage and previous preference history to weed out click-baits and irrelevant content.

These surveys were sent out in April by Facebook, and the changes based on the findings are now being implemented.