Facebook Redesign: New Focus on Friends, Photos & Marketplace

Meta Shifts Focus: A Return to Core Features?

Recent announcements from Meta, the company previously known as Facebook, suggest a strategic realignment. The company is implementing a significant overhaul of its primary app, prioritizing connections between friends and incorporating design modifications.

Metaverse Efforts and the Rise of Facebook Marketplace

This move follows reports indicating Meta is contemplating reductions in its metaverse initiatives. Prior to the surge in AI development, virtual worlds and VR were positioned as the company’s next major venture in social networking.

Despite this ambition, Facebook continues to maintain a substantial user base, even though growth has plateaued in key markets like the United States.

Appealing to a Younger Demographic

As the Facebook user base matures, with significant usage among Baby Boomers and Generation X, Meta is actively seeking to attract a younger audience. Previous attempts to reposition Facebook as a platform for college students have not yielded sustained success.

Interestingly, Facebook Marketplace is gaining traction with younger users.

Marketplace's Growing Popularity

According to a 2025 eMarketer report, over half of Gen Z users in the U.S. utilize Facebook Marketplace. Meta confirmed this trend last month, revealing that one in four young adult daily active users in the U.S. and Canada engage with Marketplace.

Currently, Marketplace is located within the “More” menu, making it less accessible.

Redesign Highlights: Navigation and Features

The upcoming update will elevate Marketplace to the app’s bottom navigation bar, alongside features like Reels and Friends. This change aims to increase visibility and user engagement.

Inspired by Instagram's Success

Reels and direct messaging have proven highly popular on Instagram, prompting Meta to test a redesign centered around these features. Facebook is now adopting a similar approach, refocusing on friends as a core element of the user experience.

The Profile tab will remain accessible, and users will have customization options.

Enhanced Photo and Search Experiences

Users will now be able to double-tap photos in their Feed to express appreciation, mirroring Instagram’s functionality. Photos will be displayed in a standardized grid format, with full-screen viewing available with a single click.

The Search function is being revamped with an immersive grid layout to accommodate various content types. A new full-screen viewer will allow users to explore photo and video results without losing their search context.

Streamlined Content Creation and Sharing

Meta is simplifying the process of creating Stories and regular posts by making tools for adding music and tagging friends more prominent, while reducing distractions. Settings for audience and cross-posting will also be more readily visible.

Improved Commenting and Moderation

Commenting across Feed, Groups, and Reels is receiving updates. Replies will be more streamlined, badges will be more visible, and new pinning tools will be introduced. These changes aim to enhance conversation clarity and provide creators and administrators with expanded moderation controls.

Users will also have the ability to anonymously flag irrelevant comments and disruptive users.

Personalized Feed Experience

Users will be able to provide feedback on why they dislike a post or Reel, enabling a more personalized Feed experience.

Reconnecting with the Core Value: Friend Connections

This update represents an effort by Facebook to reclaim its original identity as a platform for connecting with friends. This focus was somewhat diminished as the platform prioritized news, creator videos, and attempts to replicate other successful social applications.

Updated user profiles are being introduced, allowing individuals to share more details about their interests, hobbies, and travel experiences.

Sharing Interests and Facilitating Connections

Users can now include information about their preferences, such as favorite TV shows, music streaming choices, and travel destinations. This information will be used to connect users with friends who share similar interests or can offer relevant recommendations.

Control Over Profile Updates

Previously, Facebook automatically shared profile updates to users’ Feeds, a feature that many found intrusive. The new update allows users to control whether these updates are shared, potentially increasing adoption of the new profile features.

Impact on Feed Ranking and Global Rollout

These changes may influence how content is ranked in users’ Feeds, which are already personalized. The new features will be rolled out globally over the coming weeks.

Some changes, including the new navigation, search, comments updates, double-tap to like, and Feed/Stories composer redesign, will be exclusive to mobile devices.