Facebook is preparing to test an app experience that opens directly into full-screen video for users the company believes want more visual content. The experiment changes the first screen those users see, but it does not remove the traditional Feed or force participants to remain in the new layout.
On July 24, 2026, Meta said it would begin with a subset of people in countries where video use is already strong. The company has not shown the experimental interface, so the announced controls and rollout sequence provide the clearest guide to how far the test will depart from Facebook’s current opening screen.
The Test Keeps Classic Feed One Tap Away
Facebook head Tom Alison said the international tests would start later in 2026, with a possible expansion to the United States in 2027. Meta will initially choose people it expects to prefer video rather than changing the opening experience for every account. The staged approach lets the company study a receptive audience before deciding whether the design belongs in a larger market.
People included in the test will be able to opt out and restore a Feed-first start. Even while the video layout is active, Classic Feed will remain one tap away as the second tab in the app. Those controls make the experiment a test of a new default, not an announced replacement for Feed, and give participants a direct route back if the opening view does not match how they use Facebook.
Meta says video on Facebook now hosts entertainment, conversations, communities and commerce. That mix gives the company a reason to move video from one destination inside the app to the screen that greets selected users. It also means the test concerns where social and shopping activity begins, not only how many clips people watch.
The competitive pressure is visible in Meta’s wider numbers. The Verge reported that the company’s platforms collectively lost 20 million users in the first quarter of 2026, though Meta does not publish a separate figure for Facebook. TikTok crossed one billion monthly users far faster than Facebook reached the same level. Meta launched Instagram Reels in 2020 as an answer to short-form video and is now testing a similar priority shift inside its original social network.
A New Default Can Reshape Facebook Without Removing Feed
An opening screen determines which action requires no choice. A user can still reach Feed under Meta’s design, but video receives the first opportunity to hold attention. The opt-out protects user control while giving Facebook a direct measure of how many selected users accept the video-first view, restore Feed or continue switching between the two.
The experiment fits a broader effort to separate familiar Facebook activities into purpose-built tools. Meta is developing Seller for frequent Marketplace merchants, with AI-assisted listing creation, one inbox, inventory controls and performance data. One in three young U.S. adults on Facebook uses Marketplace daily, while 430 million items and 44 million vehicles are listed globally each month. Seller can draft a description, suggest a price and tag an item in about 30 seconds. Forum testing for Groups began in May with tools for finding relevant earlier posts and helping administrators manage their communities. Meta announced the return of a reworked Creator Studio in June. Its Creator Assistant can brainstorm ideas, explain performance in plain language and tailor guidance to an audience, while Meta is also adjusting recommendations across Feed, Video and Search.
Meta is pairing those specialized products with a free Facebook Verified badge. Profiles must complete selfie verification and meet the company’s trust-and-safety requirements before receiving it. The badge is designed to help people assess who is behind an account before dealing with someone through Marketplace, Dating or a local Group, areas where moving from an online exchange to a transaction or meeting increases the value of identity checks.
These changes reorganize Facebook around distinct jobs while keeping the main network underneath them. For video, the decisive result will be whether users offered full-screen playback as the default entry point keep it without losing the community, selling and connection functions that distinguish Facebook. The international test will provide that evidence before Meta decides whether to bring the design to U.S. users.