So many social media apps. What if we just ... combined a few?
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Facebook helped make TikTok huge by showing its users tons of ads for the Chinese video company.Now Facebook may end up becoming something that … looks and feels a lot like TikTok.That's the takeaway from a product update Meta's social network provided Friday: Starting this fall, it is going to start testing a version of the Facebook app that essentially turns it into a TikTok-like video player, as a default setting.Per Tom Allison, the Meta executive who oversees Facebook, the test will provide a "reimagined experience that puts a subset of people who we think want more video on Facebook into full-screen video the moment they open the app," which is exactly what you get when you open TikTok.Allison says people in the test will be able to opt out of the new setting and return to classic Facebook — and that people who stick with the video-first option can always toggle back and forth to see a traditional Facebook feed.The company plans on rolling out the test in some "video-heavy countries" this fall and may bring it to the US in 2027, Allison writes. A Meta rep didn't offer more details about timing or anything else.Here, we need to note that a test is a test, not a final product decision. On the other hand, Meta and other platforms test stuff all the time, and don't always go out of their way to tell you about it in advance. So I'm taking this as a serious signal.
