Meta is testing a full-screen, Reels-first interface for the Facebook app in India and Indonesia, prioritizing algorithmic video content over the traditional News Feed. This shift aims to increase video engagement, which currently accounts for 60% of time spent on the platform, and signals a potential future rollout to other markets.
This shift signals Meta's intent to transition Facebook from a social graph-based platform to an interest-based discovery engine, mirroring the architecture of TikTok. By defaulting to the Facebook Reels-first interface, Meta aims to capture more of the 3.5 billion Reels shared daily across its ecosystem, directly challenging short-form competitors for dominant share of mobile attention. For the broader streaming and advertising ecosystem, this move forces brands to pivot from organic follower reach toward algorithm-optimized creative to maintain visibility. Watch for Meta to report engagement lift metrics from the Indonesia and India cohorts before confirming a U.S. launch timeline next year.
Meta has been building toward a video-first Facebook experience for several years. In July 2026, Facebook head Tom Alison announced plans to test a reimagined video-first experience in markets with heavy video consumption, describing the goal as putting users who want more video directly into full-screen content the moment they open the app. The company had already laid groundwork in 2024 by implementing a full-screen video player, then renaming the Video tab to the Reels tab in 2025 and classifying all new Facebook video uploads as Reels regardless of length or format.
The Reels-first test on Facebook is part of a coordinated push across Meta's app family. Instagram is separately testing episodic video in a new TV app as part of Meta's broader effort to pull video ad spend away from traditional media companies, and the company has reported that its short-form video business has grown to a $50 billion annual run rate. Meta has also been testing a Reels-first default experience for some Instagram users in India and South Korea, framing the Facebook trial as an extension of the same strategy across both apps.
India's role as Meta's primary testing ground for short-form video dates back to 2020, when Instagram began testing a dedicated Reels tab in the country months after India banned TikTok. Meta has described Reels as increasingly becoming India's personal and primary screen, and the company's advertising tools indicate an audience of more than 400 million people in the country, making it Facebook's largest market by users. The Indonesia expansion suggests Meta is validating the format across multiple high-growth Asian markets before considering a U.S. rollout, which Alison indicated could happen in 2027.
Meta is testing a new Facebook interface in India and Indonesia that defaults to a full-screen Reels feed upon opening the app. This strategic shift moves the platform toward an interest-based discovery engine, mirroring TikTok’s architecture to capture more mobile attention and compete for dominant short-form video market share.
Meta is currently testing the Reels-first interface in India and Indonesia, two major markets with high video engagement.
Yes, while the new interface defaults to recommended video content, users can manually opt back into the classic News Feed.
Meta plans to evaluate engagement metrics from its current tests before potentially rolling out the video-centric home screen to the U.S. market in 2027.
Meta aims to transition Facebook from a social graph-based platform to an interest-based discovery engine, capturing more of the 3.5 billion Reels shared daily and challenging short-form competitors.
Add StreamingMeme as a preferred source on Google to see more of our streaming news at the top of your Search results.
Add as preferred source
