Open Facebook in India this autumn and you may not see your Feed at all. Meta is testing a version of the app that launches directly into full-screen video, with the traditional Feed moved to a secondary tab, TechCrunch reports. The test is running in India and Indonesia, and Facebook’s leadership has previously indicated the experience could come to the US in 2027.

A day earlier, Social Media Today reported that Instagram is testing an option that lets people choose to open the app to Reels instead of the main feed, with Stories still at the top and the regular feed a swipe away.

Why Meta is doing this

Meta’s reasoning is not subtle. The company told TechCrunch that young adults spend about 60% of their time on Facebook watching video. Social Media Today, citing Meta, puts video at around 60% of time spent across Facebook and Instagram and says more than 3.5 billion Reels are shared across the two apps every day. For Instagram specifically, the outlet reports that more than half of time in the app is now spent on Reels.

The figures are framed slightly differently by each outlet, but the direction is the same: video is where Meta sees growth, and the home screen is the most valuable real estate it has.

The home screen is the most valuable real estate a platform has. Meta is handing it to video.

What it means for creators

  • Reels distribution is the priority. When a platform redesigns its front door around a format, that format usually gets the most room to reach non-followers. If Instagram or Facebook is a meaningful channel for you, Reels deserve a real place in your plan, not leftovers from other platforms.
  • Static posts and links lose ground. In both tests the traditional feed still exists, but one tap further away. Creators who rely on photo posts or link posts to drive traffic should watch their numbers closely if these tests widen.
  • Nothing is final. These are tests, opt-in or limited to certain countries. Meta has a long history of testing layouts it later changes. Adjust your mix gradually rather than rebuilding everything around one experiment.

The bigger picture

For a decade, short vertical video was something every app added. Now the apps are being rebuilt around it. That raises the value of skills that travel across platforms, a strong first few seconds, clear vertical framing, captions that work with the sound off, and lowers the value of tactics tied to one feed’s quirks. Those skills are worth investing in whichever app ends up opening to what.

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