Facebook is introducing a handful of new features that will give users greater control over their News Feed, including an easier way to turn off the feed’s algorithmic ranking and display content in the order it was posted instead.
The changes build on previous tweaks to News Feed functionality. Last October, Facebook introduced a “Favorites” tool that allows users to select up to thirty friends and pages, prioritizing their content or displaying it in a separate feed. The company also offers users the option to sort their feeds by “most recent,” but buries these options in obscure menus.
The update is currently available to Android app users when they scroll up on their feed and is slated for the iPhone app in the coming weeks. It follows additional controls including a snooze option that lets you temporarily hide posts from a person, Page or group. Facebook also added the ability to turn off political ads, which have caused a furore over their alleged role in spreading misinformation and confusion.
In keeping with its latest strategy, Facebook is rolling out a separate tool that lets you choose who can comment on your public posts. Now when you go to share something on the social network, you’ll be able to restrict comments to friends or profiles and pages you’ve tagged. The setting should feel familiar to Twitter users who have had the ability to limit replies to their tweets since last August. In order to avoid suggesting posts you don’t like, Facebook is also expanding its context feature for News Feed posts from accounts you don’t follow. The “Why am i seeing this?” tool will now show you even more info when you tap on recommended content, which is catered to your browsing history, interactions and location.
