Facebook Gives Users More Control Over Their Newsfeed

Facebook is giving its users a bit more control over what shows up in their Newsfeed. The company’s algorithm mixes together posts from Facebook contacts, public figures, groups, and brands, but the result is hardly satisfying for end users.

The general consensus on Facebook these days is that it’s a cesspool of fake news and other things you probably don’t care about. But that’s a general problem with algorithmic feeds.

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Instagram users also recently complained that the app was ruined after the company gave Reels videos way too much exposure compared to pictures. Facebook’s algorithm is also a black box, but the company wants to change that by allowing users to signal if they want to see more or less certain types of posts in their Newsfeed.

“Now, you can select Show more or Show less on posts from the people and communities you’re connected to and posts that Facebook recommends to you. Selecting Show more will temporarily increase the ranking score for that post and posts like it. If you select Show less, you’ll temporarily decrease its ranking score,” the company explained.

Facebook says that these feedback options will appear “periodically” on Newsfeed posts. The company will also start testing the same feedback options in Reels, the company’s TikTok-inspired short video format.

In addition to these new ways to personalize what appears right in the Newsfeed, Facebook also has a Feed Preferences menu you probably didn’t know about. There, you can choose which posts you want to see more or less and hope that it will make an actual difference.

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