Facebook tests a big change that for once isn't a Snapchat ripoff

Have you noticed anything different about your Facebook account today? No? Squint and look just a little closer.

Based on a scattering of tweets, Facebook appears to be testing out new fonts across its platform. And like Geneva, the font that the social media giant began trying out last year, the new fonts are not a Facebook creation. Rather, if speculation across Twitter is correct, the company is now playing with having fonts default to users' system fonts.

What does that mean? Well, if you're on a Mac, your status updates are now being brought to you in "San Francisco" (the font, not the city — unless you live in San Francisco, I guess).

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If you're using Windows, you might now see those same messages in Segoe UI.

A thread on Designer News makes it clear that this has been in the works for some time now, however the number of tweets Monday suggests the company is expanding the change to more users.

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We reached out to Facebook to determine just how widespread this font change actually is, along with the thinking behind the move, but have yet to hear back.

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One justification could be making the Facebook site feel more native on a user's computer. In other words, by keeping the Facebook font the same as the computer font someone browsing the 'Book might feel a bit more at ease — thus keeping those precious eyeballs on the site just a little longer.

That, of course, is speculation. However, one thing is not: Facebook is finally testing a change that is more than just another Snapchat ripoff.