Meta’s Facebook began testing a Reels-first home screen with a subset of users in India, TechCrunch reported Oct. 6, 2026. For those users, opening the app leads directly to full-screen video instead of the familiar mixed Feed. The change is limited and reversible, but it tests a consequential design choice: whether Facebook’s first screen should favor video discovery over a view of posts from friends, groups and pages.
Reported facts: Video moves to the first screen
TechCrunch reported that the India test puts Reels at the front of the Facebook mobile experience for some users. Meta said participants can opt out and return to a Feed-first opening. The classic Feed remains available in a second tab. Meta also confirmed to TechCrunch that Indonesia is participating. The company has not publicly specified the test’s duration, participation count or a broader release schedule.
The experiment follows a plan Facebook head Tom Alison outlined in July. He said Meta would place a subset of people it believed wanted more video into a full-screen experience at app launch, beginning in video-heavy countries outside the United States. He described a possible U.S. test in 2027 as something to explore, not a scheduled rollout. India’s inclusion is the new development; the underlying product direction was public before this week.
Meta has made video more central to Facebook for years, but a first-screen change is different from adding another video tab. It changes what a selected user sees before making a navigation choice. An opt-out and a second-tab Feed preserve access to the older layout, while still allowing Meta to measure whether a video opening changes viewing and return behavior.
Analysis: The first screen allocates attention
The home screen is a distribution decision, not merely a visual refresh. A Feed-first app gives posts from several sources a chance to compete on the opening screen. A Reels-first app starts with one immersive format, one item at a time. That could increase the value of short-form video inventory and make creators with strong opening seconds more prominent. It could also make photo posts, links and group updates feel one step farther away. Those are plausible product effects, not reported results from the India test.
For brands, the test is a reminder that creative format and platform placement are linked. A company that has built Facebook distribution around static posts or community updates may need different assets if more users begin in a vertical-video view. Yet no public evidence shows that this test has changed ad reach, prices or conversion. Marketers should not rewrite budgets on the assumption that a limited interface experiment has become a platform-wide rule.
The choice also creates a tension for Facebook’s identity. Meta continues to emphasize connections among real people, local transactions and communities. Video can support those activities, but an opening experience dominated by recommended clips may be judged by different standards: immediate entertainment, fast swiping and creator discovery. The company is testing whether those behaviors should define the entry point while keeping the classic Feed close enough for users who came for other reasons.
Why India is a consequential test market
India is Facebook’s largest market by audience, according to estimates cited by TechCrunch from Meta’s advertising tools. Meta has also studied video behavior there. In a Meta-commissioned Ipsos study released in June, the company said at least 97% of surveyed users watched video on its platforms daily and 89% of surveyed Gen Z respondents used Reels daily. Those figures describe the study’s respondents and Meta’s platforms; they do not prove that a Reels-first Facebook home screen will improve satisfaction or revenue.
The test can reveal more than watch time. Product leaders should watch whether people opt out, whether they still visit Feed and groups, and whether creators outside the short-form-video format lose meaningful exposure. Advertisers will need evidence about incremental attention and outcomes rather than a count of video starts. Meta has not disclosed those measures for this experiment.
The design question is simple but far-reaching: what should a social network show first? Facebook’s India test puts full-screen video in that position for some users while leaving an exit back to Feed. Its significance will depend on what Meta learns about the trade-off between video engagement and the other reasons people open Facebook. Until the company shares results or expands the test, the change is an experiment in the front door, not a confirmed global redesign.