Meta has started testing a new Facebook UX in India that sends some users directly into full-screen video when they open the app, putting Reels front and center.<\/p>\n
First outlined<\/a> in July by Facebook head Tom Alison, the test is designed to offer a more immersive, video-forward user experience. Alison said at the time that Meta planned to begin testing it later in the year in \u201cvideo-heavy countries\u201d outside the U.S., though he didn\u2019t specify where. The company will explore bringing the user experience to the U.S. next year, he said.<\/p>\n Users included in the test can opt out and return to a Feed-first experience, Meta said. The classic feed will remain available as a second tab on the Facebook app.<\/p>\n The test comes as Meta moves to make video more central to Facebook. Last year, the company said all new videos posted to Facebook would be shared as Reels<\/a>, regardless of their length or format, and it even renamed the app\u2019s Video tab to \u201cReels.\u201d Meta has previously said young adults spend about 60% of their time<\/a> on Facebook watching videos.<\/p>\n India has long been a testing ground for Meta\u2019s video efforts, particularly its push into short-form video. In 2020, Instagram began testing a dedicated Reels tab<\/a> in the country, months after India banned TikTok<\/a>. The company also tested<\/a> a Reels-first experience for some Instagram users in India and South Korea last year that similarly sent them directly into the video UX when they opened the app.<\/p>\n The new test comes as video consumption rises across Meta\u2019s apps in India. At least 97% of users surveyed in Meta-commissioned studies said they watch video on its platforms daily, and 89% of Gen Z respondents said they use Reels every day, per the figures the company released<\/a> in June. Meta has described Reels as increasingly becoming India\u2019s \u201cpersonal and primary screen.\u201d<\/p>\n India is Facebook\u2019s largest market by users, with Meta\u2019s advertising tools indicating an audience of more than 400 million people<\/a> in the country.<\/p>\n