Facebook Tests Reels-First App Experience in India

Facebook is testing a Reels-first experience in India that sends some users directly into full-screen video when they open the app, giving short-form video a more prominent role in the platform’s main navigation. Users included in the test can opt out and return to the traditional Feed-first experience, while the classic Feed remains accessible through a separate tab.

The experiment follows a plan Facebook outlined in July to test a more immersive, video-focused interface in countries where video consumption is particularly high. Facebook head Tom Alison said at the time that testing would begin outside the United States later in 2026, with the company considering a U.S. rollout in 2027.

Facebook puts more emphasis on Reels

The India test is part of a broader shift that has made video increasingly central to Facebook. Meta previously said newly uploaded videos would be shared as Reels regardless of length or format, and Facebook’s former Video tab has been renamed Reels.

Video already accounts for a substantial share of how younger users spend time on Facebook. Meta previously said young adults spend about 60% of their time on the platform watching video, according to Reuters reporting.

India remains a major testing market for Meta

India has played an important role in Meta’s development of short-form video products. In 2020, Instagram tested a dedicated Reels tab for users in India, giving the format a more visible place inside the app. Meta also tested a Reels-first Instagram interface with some users in India and South Korea in 2025, similarly taking participants directly into a video-focused experience when the app opened.

Meta’s own research points to heavy video usage across its services in the country. In figures released by Meta in June, at least 97% of surveyed users said they watched video on Meta platforms every day, while 89% of Gen Z respondents said they used Reels daily. The company has described Reels as increasingly becoming a primary screen for video consumption in India.

The scale of Facebook’s Indian audience also makes the market significant for experiments with the app’s core experience. Meta’s advertising tools indicated that Facebook could reach more than 400 million people in India, according to DataReportal’s Digital 2026 India report.

For now, the Reels-first design remains a test, not a mandatory change for all Facebook users in India. Participants can continue using the conventional Feed-first layout, allowing Meta to evaluate the video-focused interface without removing access to Facebook’s established content feed.