One of the prevailing issues many Facebook users often raise is the quality or relevancy of stories that display in their news feeds. On Thursday, the social network announced that it was introducing an overhaul to the service that allows users – and not an algorithm – to determine who’s stories are shown.
The update – which is presently being tested through the iOS Facebook app, and will shortly be made available on other platforms – offers users a more convenient way to configure who they both do and don’t follow, as well as prioritise stories from certain individuals or pages.
The move is somewhat of a change in direction for the social network, which has always relied on the use of an algorithm to determine what stories are presented in a user’s News Feed; users have previously been able to take short surveys to improve the relevancy of content the algorithm delivers.
Jacob Frantz – the company’s Product Manager – released the news on Facebook’s blog, stating that “We‘re always working to improve and personalize your News Feed experience. We know that ultimately you‘re the only one who truly knows what is most meaningful to you and that is why we want to give you more ways to control what you see.”
The update allows users to access a redesigned Preferences area for the News Feed, where they can select friends and pages to priotize stories from, so that any news is displayed at the top of the feed. From there, the news feed will function normally and display stories sorted through an algorithm.
Additionally, the overhaul includes redesigned tools to quickly follow new pages, or unfollow current ones, as well as manage which friends from a user’s Friend’s List are followed. The service further offers tools to reconnect with users or pages that have previously been unfollowed.
The updated News Feed began a rollout on iOS yesterday, and, according to Facebook, will be available on Android and the web within the coming weeks.
