Meta Tests Full-Screen TikTok-Style Feeds for Facebook and Instagram
Meta is evaluating new tests on Facebook and Instagram that could make full-screen vertical video feeds the default experience upon opening the applications.
Radwan AbdulhadiEditor and technology writer
Meta Explores Reels-First App Openings
Meta is currently evaluating tests on both Facebook and Instagram that provide a preview of what all social media could look like if full-screen vertical video becomes the universal default layout. According to reports, some users in India are participating in a Facebook test that drops them straight into an immersive, full-screen video feed upon launching the app.
Meta previously hinted that this specific video experience would roll out to video-heavy countries first, with a potential expansion to the United States slated for 2027. Concurrently, app researchers have noticed an option on Instagram allowing users to set Reels as the primary screen displayed upon opening the application.
Instagram Test Details and User Controls
Screenshots from app researchers indicate that Instagram Stories remain positioned at the top of the feed, while swiping reveals the traditional chronological feed of posts from followed accounts. In these tests, sound for Reels is enabled by default.
Meta spokesperson Devi Narasimhan confirmed to The Verge that the Instagram test is currently active in a handful of countries, though specific locations were not disclosed. Narasimhan noted that users maintain the ability to switch back to the original layout, and that Reels are unmuted only after a user actively clicks or swipes into a video.
Strategic Priority on Video Consumption
While not all experimental features become permanent, Meta's ongoing testing underscores how heavily the company prioritizes quick-consumption video content. During a recent earnings call, the company highlighted growing watch times—up 9 percent globally and 10 percent in the US and Canada—alongside advanced ranking systems designed to identify high-quality new Reels at creation.
The rapid ascent of TikTok and its copycats has fundamentally altered digital distribution models across multiple creative sectors, converting podcasts into video clips and reshaping television and film formats.
Shifting User Habits and Future Outlook
Industry observers have noted that as social media leans heavily into video consumption, regular users are posting less original content themselves. Polling data indicates a significant gap between the percentage of people who watch Reels and those who actually create them, raising questions about sustainability and the reliance on automated or AI-generated material.
If Meta ultimately decides to roll out video-first defaults permanently in the US and other major regions, it will mark a philosophical departure from platforms originally designed primarily for interpersonal connection, requiring both casual users and professional creators to adapt to an algorithm driven entirely by video feeds.
Sources
- The VergeAre you ready for you ready for everything to look like TikTok?
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