Last January, Mark Zuckerberg spoke about the future of Facebook to announce a "return to the original Facebook". This statement aimed to reassure investors, as the social network was struggling to recruit new users.
More recently, in a press release dated March 27, Meta announced a first, more concrete update to Facebook. This would allow the social network to get closer to its original use, with a simple way to view the statuses of its friends.
A new "Friends" tab appears
First available for Facebook users in the United States and Canada, the new "Friends" tab only shows posts from a user's friends, in addition to Stories, which launched in 2017, and Reels, which appeared more recently.
This tab should also retain birthdays and friend requests, as was the case previously. Although these features are not revolutionary, Meta justifies this choice with the desire to reconnect with the original Facebook function.
A preview of the "Friends" tab on Facebook
Evolutions to attract Gen Z?
Faced with the rise of new social networks like Instagram and TikTok, which have reached a billion users in just 5 years for the Chinese social network, Facebook is struggling to attract new users.
Abandoned by Gen Z in favor of these new platforms, these profiles now represent an indisputable opportunity for the future of the social network. Mark Zuckerberg wants to attract these profiles to Facebook, and is banking on new developments for 2025.
Although they have not yet been publicly announced, the founder of the social network has announced the arrival of new features on Facebook. Unlike the latest developments around the "Local" tabs and "Explore", these developments should be closer to the uses of 15-30 year olds.
Towards a gradual abandonment of algorithms?
While Facebook announced more recommended content in 2024, following Instagram's trend a year earlier, algorithmic recommendations have continued to multiply on the social network.
With the return of the "Facebook OG" according to Mark Zuckerberg's statements, a relaxation of moderation that was announced at the beginning of the year, the implementation of community ratings similar to X (formerly Twitter), could this herald the end of algorithms?
Facebook moderator Joel Kaplan has rightly announced that "a number of restrictions on topics like immigration, gender identity, and gender, which are at the heart of frequent political debates" should be lifted. The introduction of this new "Friends" tab should show the first signs of this decision.
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