The short-video trend triggered globally by TikTok continues to reshape digital platforms. Following Instagram's transformation into a Reels-dominated app, Facebook is now undergoing a similar evolution. Meta is currently testing a brand new version of Facebook in India, where opening the app immediately showcases full-screen videos and Reels rather than traditional text posts and photos.
Transforming Facebook into a Video-First Platform
For years, Facebook’s core identity centered around friends' status updates, shared photos, links, and community posts. However, Meta is steadily steering its primary focus toward video content. In this new test phase, users greeted by the app are met directly with an immersive full-screen video experience. While traditional text and photo posts are not vanishing entirely, Meta aims to evaluate whether putting video front and center increases user retention and platform duration.
India remains one of Meta’s largest and most crucial global markets, boasting over 400 million Facebook users. Consequently, conducting major interface experiments here provides deep insights into shifting consumer behaviors on a massive scale.
The Strategy Behind the Shift
The pivot toward short videos is driven by user habits and engagement metrics. Statistics show that young users spend roughly 60 percent of their time on Facebook watching video content. Furthermore, internal surveys indicate that 97 percent of surveyed Indian users consume daily videos, with 89 percent of Gen Z users actively watching Reels every day.
Will the Classic News Feed Disappear?
It is currently premature to declare the classic news feed dead. Meta is rolling out this feature strictly as a test, retaining an option for selected users to revert to the traditional feed format. Depending on engagement metrics and user feedback during this trial period, Meta will decide the future rollout of the video-first interface.
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