Facebook's Explore feed is finally rolling out to everyone
Congratulations, Facebook users! There's a new Facebook News Feed coming your way.
Facebook's "Explore" feed is now rolling out to all users after months of testing in the mobile app, TechCrunch reported Wednesday.
The tab will show posts from Facebook Pages the user does not follow but may fit their interests. These posts can be articles, photos, and videos. Facebook-owned Instagram has a similar feature in its app, which suggests videos the user might like and Instagram Stories.
For Facebook, Explore is another way to keep its two billion users entertained on the site as it competes with Google, Twitter, Snapchat, and the rest of the internet for people's attention.
It also provides a way for Facebook to show new stuff to its users. People have also criticized Facebook's traditional News Feed for being a filter bubble that may have destroyed democracy.
One other good thing about the Explore tab so far: It may be free from advertising. At least, for now.
“We are beginning to roll out a complementary feed of popular articles, videos, and photos, automatically customized for each person based on content that might be interesting to them," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement, according to TechCrunch.
“We’ve heard from people that they want an easy way to explore relevant content from Pages they haven’t connected with yet," the statement continued.
A Facebook spokesperson declined to share more about how the Explore feed works. Mashable's Stan Schroeder, who had access to the feature in April, suggested it may show posts popular in a user's geographical location as well as related to someone's Facebook likes and friends.
Facebook users will be able to access the Explore feed on desktop and on mobile.
Topics Facebook Instagram Social Media
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
