Facebook Steps Up News Game With Save for Later Feature

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Facebook Steps Up News Game With Save for Later Feature
Facebook announced Save on Monday, a new feature for flagging content for later. Credit: Mashable composite. Facebook

Facebook added a new feature Monday that lets users save things they're interested in -- but may not have time to check out -- for a later date.

The new feature, simply called "Save," lets you flag things like links, places, or music and then come back to them when they have more time. Saved items are personal, meaning they won't appear to your friends unless you choose to share them.

[seealso slug="news-feed-changes"]

You can save an item in News Feed by clicking the drop down menu in the post's upper righthand corner. If a user is looking at a place or music Page, a new "Save" tab will appear just under that Page's profile photo.

Users can then re-visit their saved items using the "More" tab on mobile, or by hitting the "Saved" link on lefthand rail of the desktop version.

Mashable Image
Facebook Save is rolling out on iOS, Android and web over the next few days. Credit: Facebook

The new feature brings a much-needed element to Facebook, which has made steps toward becoming the go-to place for consuming news with its addition of trending topics and Facebook Paper, among other changes. There was no easy way to re-visit a post in News Feed before "Saved," and Facebook's algorithm doesn't surface items chronologically, so it's possible a story you wanted to read later might never resurface.

Items you save will resurface, though, as Facebook will add reminders in your News Feed to check out the links and places you've flagged.

Twitter doesn't offer an explicit "save for later" feature, but users can favorite a tweet and then easily revisit that list from their profile.

Facebook users can revisit posts they Like, but the process isn't as clear (you have to go into your Activity Log) and sometimes you want to read or remember things you may not feel comfortable giving a thumbs up to.

Save will be available to all iOS and Android users, as well as web users, over the "next few days," according to Facebook's blog post.

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