Facebook is reportedly experimenting with a new way of opening the app in India, with Reels taking centre stage instead of the traditional Feed. Under the test, some users are being directed straight to a full-screen video experience when they launch Facebook.
According to a TechCrunch report cited by NDTV, the change is aimed at making video the starting point of the Facebook experience. Users included in the test can reportedly switch back to the familiar Feed-first setup, while the existing Feed will remain available through a separate tab.
Reels could become the new starting point
The experiment follows plans outlined by Facebook head Tom Alison in July. At the time, Alison said Meta would test a redesigned Facebook experience in markets where people consume particularly large amounts of video outside the US.
The new setup would mark a shift from the traditional Facebook home screen, where text posts, photographs and videos appear together. Instead, users taking part in the experiment would encounter video content immediately after opening the app.
The move does not appear to remove the classic Feed. Instead, Facebook is reportedly giving users the option to access it separately or return to the Feed-first experience.
India has been a testing ground for reels
Meta has previously used India to experiment with changes to its short-form video products. In 2020, Instagram tested a dedicated Reels tab in the country following the ban on TikTok.
More recently, Instagram also tested a Reels-first experience among a limited group of users in India and South Korea. That format similarly placed video content ahead of the traditional Feed when the app was opened.
The latest Facebook experiment therefore extends a strategy Meta has already explored with Instagram, although the company is reportedly testing the format with Facebook users in India.
Why India matters to Meta
India is a major market for Facebook, particularly because of its enormous user base and high consumption of digital video.
Citing figures from Meta's advertising tools, TechCrunch reported that Facebook has more than 400 million users in India, making the country Meta's largest market by user numbers.
For now, the Reels-first setup remains a test and is being shown only to selected users. It is not clear when, or if, Meta plans to make the experience available more widely.