For the first time in a long time, I’ve found myself actually enjoying scrolling through Facebook. Not because of some viral reel or AI-generated meme, but because of something surprisingly old-school: posts from my actual friends.
A few weeks ago, Facebook quietly rolled out a revamped Friends tab in the U.S. and Canada, and the experience is refreshingly personal. No algorithmically injected “suggested for you” junk. No influencer content. No brand videos you never asked for. Just posts, stories, reels, and birthdays from people you're connected to – and ads. It’s like a throwback to what Facebook used to be – before it was overrun with recommendations and revenue-driven distractions.
The Friends tab, which used to be just a list of friend requests and “People You May Know,” now offers a dedicated feed of updates from your Facebook friends. It’s available in the app’s navigation bar, or if you’re on your computer, you’ll find it if you click on “Feeds” in the left navigation bar.
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Facebook says this is the first of several “OG” experiences planned for this year – an effort to recapture the “magic” of the platform’s early days. Yes, that’s PR spin, but this change does actually make the app feel more social again. I can open the Friends tab and see vacation pics from people I went to school with, updates from old coworkers, or someone’s kid’s birthday party. It’s simple, low-key, and oddly comforting – if I ignore the ads.
And that’s exactly why I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Historically, when Facebook has “improved” its app, the changes tended to benefit Facebook, not us. Think more ads, more algorithmic control, more friction when trying to just see what your friends are up to. This shift toward a friends-only tab feels like a genuine improvement – but at what cost? More data mining to build profiles for targeted ads? Or will Facebook start slipping in suggested content again to determine our new tolerance levels? The skeptic in me says we will find out; it’s only a matter of time.
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Still, I’ll take the win while it lasts. If you haven’t tried it yet, give the Friends tab a spin. It’s one of the few recent updates that actually makes Facebook feel personal again – and that’s no small feat.
[Image credit:Screenshot via Techlicious, phone mockup via Canva]
