Roger Fingas
Facebook on Thursday began deploying a new feature first through its iOS app, making it easier for users of the social network to decide which posts are and are not presented by the social network's News Feed.
Under the app's "More" menu, an overhauled News Feed Preferences tool should make it simpler to unfollow (without defriending) people or pages, which are displayed in an easy-to-read list of contacts with profile photos. A mirror option makes it possible to reconnect with unfollowed profiles.
The ability to follow or unfollow was already possible through the app, but until now more convoluted, typically done through profile or news post options.
Completely new however is the ability to choose which people and pages to prioritize. Starring items via the Prioritize option will ensure that their posts always appear towards the top of the News Feed — previously, posts were highlighted automatically based on algorithms.
The News Feed Preferences tool finally includes a Discover New Pages option, which shows brief suggestions for pages a person can Like.
The new settings options are currently iOS-exclusive, but will become available to Android and Web users within the next several weeks, Facebook said.
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Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Oliver Haslam
William Gallagher
7 Comments
I know how to block or remove things I don't want to see on my news feed. What I would like to see in my news feed is ALL unblocked things in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.
2 days ago I saw link to improve my news feed on the side of my news feed, I don't think they began with iOS.
They show you 2 different posts from 2 different sources and you have to decide which one you'd rather see, after a while it just tells you they'll work on showing you things you actually want to see.
I wish I can see ALL posts in most recent. There have been many times where I see a post from days ago for the first time.
Regardless of platform, Facebook has become an inconsistent mess of unwanted advertisements and suggestions, garbage apps, bloated and virtually-incomprehensible privacy policies that require constant research to keep on top of. The method to refine what you see seems to be a moving target and the settings don't stick. It's hard to complain too much about a free product, but it sure would be nice if Facebook went back to its roots. Tweaking Facebook's operation and privacy settings is getting to be more complex than programming!
Yep I've always preferred a fully chronological feed. Unfollowing some people makes sense, but I don't care about priorities. The algorithms are what screwed up Facebook.