Facebook Will Show Reels As Soon As It Opens: Test Started in India
· AI Applications · Cem Koyluoglu
Meta has begun testing a new Facebook user experience in India that directs some users straight to full‑screen video when they open the app and puts Reels at the center. First...
TL;DR Meta is piloting a full‑screen Reels‑first experience in India, launching the Facebook app directly into a video view to prioritize video content. The test, announced in July, allows users to opt out and keeps the classic feed as a second tab. The move follows Meta’s broader push to make video, especially Reels, the centerpiece of its platform.
Key Highlights • Meta launches a full‑screen Reels‑first experience in India, opening the app directly into video. • Users can opt out anytime and still access the traditional feed via a second tab. • The pilot follows Meta’s strategy to elevate Reels, with 60 % of young adults spending 60 % of their time watching video on the platform.
Meta Tests Full‑Screen Reels‑First Experience in India
Meta has begun a pilot in India that launches the Facebook app directly into a full‑screen video view, placing Reels at the center of the user experience. The experiment, announced by Facebook manager Tom Alison in July, aims to create a more immersive, video‑centric interface. Alison said the rollout would start in countries outside the United States where video usage is high, though he did not specify which markets. He added that the company might consider bringing the feature to the U.S. next year.
Users participating in the test can opt out at any time and return to the traditional feed. The classic feed will remain available as the second tab within the app.
This initiative builds on Meta’s broader strategy to elevate video on Facebook. Last year the company announced that all new videos posted on the platform would appear as Reels, and it renamed the Video tab to Reels. Meta has also reported that roughly 60 % of young adults spend about 60 % of their time on the platform watching video content.
India has long served as a testing ground for Meta’s video initiatives. Following the ban on TikTok in 2020, Instagram began experimenting with a dedicated Reels tab in the country. The previous year, Meta tested a Reels‑first experience that directed users in India and South Korea straight to a video screen upon opening the app.
The new test arrives amid a surge in video consumption across India. June data released by Meta shows that at least 97 % of users who participated in the company’s research watch video daily, and 89 % of Generation Z participants use Reels each day. Meta notes that Reels is becoming increasingly integrated into users’ personal and home screens.
India remains Facebook’s largest market by user count. Meta’s advertising tools reach more than 400 million people in the country.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/06/facebook-tests-going-reels-first-in-india/