Facebook is planning some of its most radical changes yet to fend off the rising popularity of rival social platforms, especially TikTok. Tom Alison, the head of Facebook, announced that the company will begin testing a “reimagined experience” later this year that will present a subset of users with a full-screen video feed the moment they open the app. This is a clear attempt to replicate the addictive, vertically-scrolling video interface that has made TikTok a global phenomenon.
The decision comes at a critical juncture for Facebook. While the platform remains the most popular social network globally by total users, its growth has stagnated, and its dominance is being challenged on multiple fronts. In the first quarter of 2026, Meta reported a collective loss of 20 million users across all its platforms, a stark indicator that the company’s core demographic is drifting away. TikTok, by contrast, passed 1 billion monthly active users just three years after its global launch—a milestone that took Facebook nearly a decade to achieve. YouTube is also a close second in popularity, and its short-form video feature, Shorts, is thriving.
The TikTok Threat and Facebook’s Response
For years, Facebook executives downplayed TikTok’s threat. In 2022, Alison told The Verge that he saw “TikTok chasing Facebook,” not the other way around. But the data tells a different story. Facebook’s user engagement, especially among younger audiences, has been steadily declining. Teenagers and young adults increasingly prefer TikTok’s algorithmically curated, entertainment-first feed over Facebook’s traditional mix of posts from friends, groups, and pages.
Meta’s first direct response to TikTok was Reels, launched on Instagram in 2020. Reels was a moderately successful attempt to bring short-form video to the photo-sharing app. Now, Meta is applying the same strategy to Facebook, but with a much more aggressive twist: turning the entire app into a video-first experience. The experimental full-screen interface will initially roll out to countries where video consumption is notably higher, such as India and parts of Southeast Asia, with a possible expansion to the United States next year.
The shift is driven by a fundamental change in how people use social media. “Video is where conversations are happening, communities are forming, and even commerce is starting to take place,” Alison said in a statement. By forcing users into a TikTok-like feed, Facebook hopes to increase time spent on the platform and boost ad revenue. But critics argue that such a drastic move could alienate longtime users who still prefer text-based updates and photo albums.
Emulating Competitors: Reddit and Craigslist
Facebook’s transformation doesn’t stop with video. The company has been steadily borrowing features from other successful platforms to keep its ecosystem sticky. This year, it launched the Forum app, a dedicated space for interacting with Facebook Groups. Forum is designed to mimic subreddit communities on Reddit, offering threaded discussions, upvoting, and topic-based channels. The goal is to create deeper, more engaging conversations that rival Reddit’s user-generated content model.
Additionally, Facebook today announced the launch of Seller, a new app tailored for Marketplace merchants. Seller acts as a dedicated hub for sellers to track performance, manage listings, and communicate with buyers—essentially a Craigslist-style experience but with the convenience of integrated payment and shipping options. This move comes as Facebook Marketplace has grown into a massive e-commerce platform, but it still lacks the dedicated tools that power sellers on Amazon or eBay. By creating a standalone Seller app, Facebook aims to attract more professional merchants and compete directly with platforms like Craigslist, which remains popular for local classifieds.
Free Verification Badges: A Shift in Trust Strategy
Another noticeable change is the introduction of a free verified badge for users. Previously, verification on Facebook required a paid subscription to Meta Verified, which costs $11.99 per month. Now, users can obtain a blue checkmark by completing a simple selfie verification process. The goal is to help users know that a profile is linked to a real person, thereby improving trust and reducing impersonation.
This move is partly a response to criticism that paid verification erodes the meaning of the badge. Twitter (now X) faced similar backlash when it launched paid blue checks under Elon Musk. By offering a free alternative, Facebook hopes to restore some credibility while still keeping the paid tier for additional perks like account support and enhanced visibility. The free badge will likely become a baseline requirement for joining groups or participating in marketplace transactions, further integrating verification into the platform’s core experience.
The Broader Strategy: A Super-App Ambition?
Facebook’s evolution over the years has turned it into a hodgepodge of social and commerce services. It started as a simple network for college students, then added photo sharing, news feed, gaming, messaging (Messenger), marketplaces, dating, job listings, and now dedicated apps for groups and sellers. The company is effectively trying to become a “super app”—similar to WeChat in China—where users can do everything from chatting to shopping to booking appointments without leaving the ecosystem.
But the super-app model has proven difficult to replicate in the West. WeChat succeeded in China because of a lack of alternative services and deep integration with daily life. In the US and Europe, users are more fragmented and privacy-conscious. Facebook’s attempts to bundle services have often led to clutter and user fatigue. The addition of a full-screen video feed could be the final straw for users who remember the platform as a simple way to share photos and stay in touch with friends.
Meta is also facing regulatory headwinds. Antitrust investigations in the EU and US have scrutinized the company’s dominance and its practices of copying competitors. The new video interface and standalone apps may draw further attention from regulators who argue that Meta uses its size to crush smaller rivals. However, Meta argues that these changes are pro-competitive because they offer users more choices within the Facebook ecosystem.
What This Means for Users
For the average Facebook user, the upcoming changes could be jarring. Those who open the app expecting to see updates from friends and family might instead be greeted with a TikTok-style feed of viral videos, recommended based on their viewing habits. Facebook says it will initially test this experience with a small group of users and gather feedback before a wider rollout. But the direction is clear: Facebook is betting that video is the future of social interaction.
For content creators, the shift could be a boon. A dedicated video feed rewards engaging, short-form content, which could help creators build larger audiences on Facebook. However, it also means increased competition, as the algorithm will favor viral videos over personal updates. Businesses may need to rethink their advertising strategies, investing more in video production to capture user attention.
The introduction of the Seller and Forum apps also signals that Facebook wants to become a more modular platform. Instead of trying to do everything in one app, Meta is spinning off specific functions into standalone experiences. This could reduce clutter in the main Facebook app while still keeping users within the Meta ecosystem. It’s a strategy reminiscent of messaging: Messenger was separated from Facebook years ago, and both apps remain popular.
Historical Context: Facebook’s Previous Pivots
Facebook has undergone several major transformations before. In 2012, it pivoted to mobile and launched the News Feed algorithm. In 2016, it shifted its focus to video, heavily promoting Facebook Live and even paying publishers to create Video content. In 2018, following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, it prioritized privacy and introduced features like “Clear History.” Each pivot was met with skepticism but ultimately helped Facebook maintain relevance.
However, the current pivot is arguably the most risky. TikTok’s success is not just about the format—it’s about the algorithm. TikTok’s “For You” feed is incredibly good at surfacing content that users didn’t know they wanted. Facebook’s recommendation engine, by contrast, has historically been based on social connections and group membership. Retooling the algorithm to compete with TikTok’s is a massive engineering challenge. If Facebook fails to match TikTok’s dopamine hit, users could quickly abandon the new interface.
Moreover, Facebook’s user base is older and more established. Many users depend on the platform for news, community groups, and business networking. Forcing a video-first experience on them could lead to a backlash, as seen when Instagram users protested the proliferation of Reels and suggested algorithms. Meta learned from that experience: Instagram eventually allowed users to toggle between a standard and a Reels-heavy feed. Facebook may offer similar opt-out options, but the long-term goal remains to shift everyone toward video.
The Competitive Landscape
Facebook is not the only platform scrambling to imitate TikTok. YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Snapchat Spotlight, and even LinkedIn have introduced short-form video features. TikTok itself is expanding into longer videos, e-commerce, and group chats. The social media landscape is becoming increasingly homogeneous, with everyone copying everyone else. In this environment, differentiation becomes harder. Facebook’s bet is that its massive user base and data on social relationships will give it an edge—if it can execute.
Meanwhile, the rise of decentralized platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky poses a different kind of threat. These platforms offer users more control over their data and algorithms, appealing to those tired of corporate social media. Facebook’s moves toward centralization (by making the app more addictive) could accelerate the exodus of privacy-conscious users. However, the scale of these alternative platforms remains tiny compared to Facebook’s billions.
Conclusion-free Endnote
As Facebook experiments with a TikTok-like interface, launches Reddit and Craigslist clones, and offers free verification, one thing is clear: the company is willing to radically change its identity to survive. Whether these changes will attract new users or drive away old ones remains to be seen. The next few years will be decisive for Facebook’s future as it tries to balance innovation with user loyalty. The results of the full-screen video test, expected by early 2027, will likely shape the next chapter of the platform that once defined social media itself.
Source: The Verge News