Meta is reshaping Facebook’s video experience. The company aims to better understand user habits by strengthening the Reels feature. The new recommendation system analyzes viewing behavior in a short time and offers personalized content. With this change, Facebook aims to be on the agenda again and maintain its claim in the short video field.
Mark Zuckerberg stated in his statement at the beginning of the year that he was “happy to return to the old spirit of Facebook.” This statement signaled that the platform will be redefined not only with social shares but also with dynamic video content. In addition, the growth of TikTok and YouTube Shorts has led Meta to a video-centered structure. The company plans to keep the platform alive by focusing on areas where users spend more time. Regardless, Facebook is trying to preserve the core value of social connections.
Facebook Reels has been revamped to better understand user habits
Meta improved the Reels algorithm, ensuring that more up-to-date content comes to the fore. Half of the videos in users’ streams now consist of content shared on the same day. In this way, users encounter fresher and more interesting videos on the platform. Increasing up-to-dateness directly affects viewing time and interaction. In addition to all this, Meta supports the user experience with social interactions.
In this context, a new feature called “friend bubbles” was introduced. These bubbles, which appear at the bottom left of the videos, instantly show friends’ likes. By touching this bubble, the user can send a private message to his friend and start a video-related chat. This innovation brings the social aspect of Facebook to the fore again by turning the act of viewing into interaction. Additionally, bubbles give the platform a more friendly and community-based feel.
In its statement, Meta states that this feature was developed to remind Facebook’s deep-rooted social connection structure. “Seeing friends’ likes is one of the most fundamental experiences of Facebook,” the company said. Thus, Facebook blends the social sharing concept of years ago with modern video dynamics. However, this transformation is not only considered a nostalgic step, but also a move to strengthen user loyalty.
These adjustments made by Meta in the Reels infrastructure had a visible impact on user behavior. According to the company’s latest financial report, Facebook users’ video viewing time increased by more than 20 percent compared to last year. This rate shows that the algorithm captures user interest more accurately. In addition, the optimizations Meta has implemented in its content ranking engine increase the accuracy of video recommendations. Thus, Facebook has a more dynamic structure in terms of content discovery.
In June, Meta announced that all videos on the platform will now be converted to Reels format. With this step, length limits were removed and a more flexible sharing environment was provided to content producers. Producers can now benefit from the Reels system with either short or long videos. Besides all this, this merger gathers users’ video consumption experience under a single format. However, this may partially change Facebook’s traditional video identity.
Despite everything, this move by Meta has turned into a step that diversifies the user experience. Now Facebook stands out not only with social interactions but also with personal content discovery. In addition, the recommendation system extends the time users spend on the platform. Additionally, content creators also gain more visibility thanks to this change. In short, Reels is no longer just entertainment, but also an area of interaction.
Despite this, some users are concerned that the algorithm may reduce diversity. In particular, personalization systems re-showing similar types of videos may narrow the content experience. However, Meta regularly updates its recommendation algorithm to reduce this risk. With this approach, the platform both recognizes your interests correctly and tries to balance access to different content. Regardless, Facebook’s new video strategy is being watched closely.
On the other hand, this innovation also creates new opportunities for advertisers. Longer video durations give brands greater room in storytelling. In addition, strengthening the recommendation system allows ads to be targeted more accurately. This both personalizes the user experience and increases advertising efficiency. Thus, Meta makes the Reels ecosystem more efficient for both users and businesses.