Facebook redesign turns comments into messages for a reason that actually makes sense

The social network is trialling a bold new look that resembles Messenger threads

Aatif Sulleyman
Wednesday 22 March 2017 13:18 GMT
Comments
A dog stands in front of a computer screen with a facebook page opened on it, on January 4, 2013 in Lille, Northern France
A dog stands in front of a computer screen with a facebook page opened on it, on January 4, 2013 in Lille, Northern France (DENIS CHARLET/AFP/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Facebook is experimenting with a new layout, which could make the News Feed look a lot more like the Messenger app.

The social network has redesigned comment threads so posts appear in bubbles, as they do in conversations on Messenger.

It's an unusual move, but makes individual comments a lot easier to view and interact with, and users retain the ability to Like replies on threads.

The bold new look makes sense, but could take some getting used to, especially as individual comments appear to take up significantly more space.

(BuzzFeed
(BuzzFeed (BuzzFeed)

As Facebook is only trialling the design tweak, there’s no guarantee that it will roll out to all users.

“We are always working to make Facebook a more visual and engaging place to have conversations,” a Facebook spokesperson told BuzzFeed.

“So we’re testing multiple design updates in News Feed, including a more conversational way to comment on posts.”

According to a recent report, that’s not the only big announcement Facebook has in the works.

The company is said to be planning to launch at least four new hardware products at an event next month, including a heavily rumoured brain-scanning device that has been linked with comments made by Mark Zuckerberg last year.

In a Q&A, Facebook’s CEO described technology that could allow people to “capture a thought, what you’re thinking or feeling in kind of its ideal and perfect form in your head, and be able to share that with the world.”

Facebook’s 2017 developer conference kicks off on 18 April.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in