For years, Facebook insisted that its algorithms were best placed to curate what people saw on their News Feed. It was like being told that the machine learning systems knew what you wanted better than you did. Only recently, the social media giant has taken an altogether different tack. After allowing users to prioritize posts from select friends and Pages, it’s now introducing a new “Feed Filter” menu that gives you quick access to its “Most Recent” setting, which allows you to switch off its algorithmically-ranked News Feed. That way, you’ll be shown posts from friends, Pages and groups in the order they were posted. The new menu also houses additional News Feed controls including the Favorites setting that boosts your chosen friends’ content.
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.
This article is auto-generated by Algorithm Source: www.engadget.com
