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The feature launched in the US and Canada on Thursday, Mar. 27. The addition is part of a broader effort to restore Facebook's original focus on connecting friends, according to Meta.
The revamped feed only highlights content from friends, eliminating recommended posts and ads.
"The new Friends tab is a throwback to OG Facebook when you only saw friends' status updates," CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted. "More OG Facebook coming soon."
The Friends tab, previously a place to view friend requests and "people you may know," now consolidates stories, reels, posts, birthdays, and friend requests from friends into a single feed. Users can access it from the navigation bar on their home feed or through the Bookmarks section of the app.
To pin the Friends tab, Facebook users can:
- Click their profile picture in the Home feed.
- Select “settings & privacy,” then “settings” and “tab bar.”
- Customize the bar and pin the Friends tab for easier access.
Meta's blog post emphasized that this latest update is part of a broader push to restore the original magic of Facebook.
"We're making it easier to connect with your friends in fun and simple ways on Facebook – starting with an updated Friends tab," the company wrote.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
This marks the latest change for Facebook in 2025.
Meta recently started testing a Community Notes system that it says will combat misinformation. The new system replaces Meta's third-party fact-checking program, which Zuckerberg argues "destroyed more trust than it created, especially in the US."
Meta's shift away from fact-checking is part of a broader overhaul of its content moderation policies. The company recently scaled back automated removals and will now only focus on illegal and high-severity violations, such as terrorism and child exploitation.
Less severe issues will require user reports before any action is taken. Meta also plans to bring back more political content to user feeds after years of limiting its reach.
Zuckerberg has been criticized for abandoning fact-checking, with opponents saying the billionaire is using the move to appease President Donald Trump. Meta donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund and added Trump ally and UFC president Dana White to its board of directors.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk were among the tech billionaires who were invited guests at President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Meta also announced in January that it would lay off thousands of low-performing workers. Zuckerberg told staff that he was expecting an "intense year" for Meta, citing the company's focus on artificial intelligence, smart glasses, and the future of social media.
Meta has not announced a timeline for a global rollout of the new Friends tab.
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