Facebook's New Friends Tab: A Return to OG Facebook

Remember the good old days of Facebook, when it was all about connecting with friends and seeing their updates? Meta is taking a trip down memory lane with the introduction of the new Facebook Friends tab. This dedicated space will showcase content exclusively from your friends, cutting out the noise of recommended content and other distractions. It's a conscious effort to bring back the core essence of Facebook – connecting people with their friends.

Focus on Friends, Forget the Noise

Available initially in the U.S. and Canada, the Friends tab will feature a curated feed of content from your friends, including their posts, Reels, Stories, birthdays, and friend requests. This is a significant shift from the previous iteration of the tab, which primarily focused on friend suggestions ("People You May Know").

This move follows Meta's earlier attempt to attract a younger audience with a Gen Z-focused redesign of Facebook, emphasizing community information, Groups, and video content. However, CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at a "return to OG Facebook" earlier this year, acknowledging the need to recapture the platform's original magic.

Zuckerberg emphasized the potential to make Facebook "way more culturally influential," hinting at a return to the platform's original purpose. The Friends tab is the first step in this direction, with more changes expected throughout the year. Meta acknowledges that Facebook has evolved over time, expanding into Groups, Video, Marketplace, and other features, but the focus on friends has diminished. The new Friends tab aims to rectify this by providing a dedicated space for genuine connections.

You can find the Friends tab in the navigation bar on Facebook's Home Feed and in the Bookmarks section of the app. For even easier access, you can pin the Friends tab to your Home Feed by going to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Tab bar and customizing your tab bar.