The real reason behind the Facebook look change

Users should say “Good bye!” to the actual Facebook look. Although the company did not announce it publicly, the design that has been the new default since May will become the only option, starting September.

A simple notification

So, the company did not make any official announcement regarding the single option look. Still, any user who opted for the new design and now wants to return to the previous one will see this notification:

Thus, the announcement only says that “The classic Facebook experience will no longer be available starting in September.” The only thing the company seems to be interested in is whether users want to switch back to the old look because of any missing features.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the “New Facebook” – a redesign, during the F8 Event in April 2019.

After the conference, Facebook focused mainly on mobile devices. But, now, the company focuses again on the Gaming and Watch sections. Also, it takes care the of the violent groups on the platform.

So, no matter how much we might like the classic Facebook, this is not going to be available anymore.

Ads interest, behind the Facebook look change

Although it might seem a huge design and usability change, there is more about it. Zuckerberg himself unveiled the reasons for this change, during the F8 2019 event.

He wanted to let the audience think that the most important thing would be the design: “A fresh new design for Facebook that’s simpler, faster, more immersive and puts your communities at the center”.

In fact, the key is in the last part of his statement, as he continued: “Overall, we’ve made it easier to find what you’re looking for and get to your most-used features”.

So, the change has to do with the way Facebook wants users to interact with the platform and the way it discovered people usually interact better. That’s why the new Facebook will put groups first.

But the final reason might have to do with the possible death of the third-party cookies, and a new and easier way for Facebook to target the audience.

Once more people get engaged in groups with different interests, the platform could more easily show tailored ads based on each group’s interest. This would mean that Facebook would suffer less if the third-party cookies disappear.

Facebook follows Google

In fact, Google took the first steps to block third-party cookies, with its Chrome 83 version. But it was forced to do so, due to the increasing concern about the way companies use data and even sell data.

So, the next step would be to find better and less intrusive ways to show relevant ads to users. And the new focus on Groups might be the thing that Facebook needs, in order to keep its revenues. Once it has people grouped around specific interests, it would not need to look for these interests by using third-party cookies.

So, now, you can understand the words in Zuckerberg’s announcement. He focused on “putting groups first”, “redesigned groups tab to make discovery easier”. Also, he was talking about “making it easier to participate in Groups” and “new features to support communities”.

Be ready to be easier targeted with ads on Facebook, starting September!