Meta has started testing a new Facebook experience in India that drops some users straight into full-screen video when they open the app, making Reels the front door instead of the classic feed. Facebook head Tom Alison previewed the plan in July, describing the goal as “a more immersive, video-forward user experience.”
For now, the test is limited to a subset of Indian users. Participants can opt out and return to a feed-first experience, and the traditional feed remains available as a second tab. Meta has said it will explore bringing the experience to the U.S. next year after testing in what Alison called “video-heavy countries” outside the U.S.
What is changing
The most visible shift is the entry point. Rather than opening on a feed of friends, pages and groups, users in the test land directly in a full-screen video surface with Reels at the centre. The familiar feed doesn’t disappear; it is simply one tab away.
This is not an isolated product tweak. Last year, Meta said all new videos posted to Facebook would be shared as Reels regardless of length or format, and it renamed the app’s Video tab to Reels. The company has also said young adults spend around 60% of their time on Facebook watching videos. The India test extends a broad push to make video the primary way people use the app.
Why India
India is Facebook’s largest market by users, with Meta’s advertising tools indicating an audience of more than 400 million people in the country. That scale makes it a practical place to see how a video-led design changes behaviour.
The market is also a familiar short-video testing ground for Meta. In 2020, Instagram began testing a dedicated Reels tab in India months after TikTok was banned. Last year, Meta tested a Reels-first experience for some Instagram users in India and South Korea. The new Facebook test follows the same playbook.
Consumer behaviour supports the bet. In figures Meta released in June, 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. Meta has described Reels as increasingly becoming India’s “personal and primary screen.”
What marketers should do now
If Reels becomes the opening surface at scale, reach on Facebook will lean harder on vertical, sound-on, full-screen creative. That changes the job of campaign design, because the first few seconds do the work that a feed headline used to do.
- Treat Reels as the first impression, not an optional extra.
- Build for vertical, sound-on viewing with a clear hook in the first few seconds.
- Track reach by placement in India to see whether feed and video inventory behave differently.
- Watch opt-out rates and engagement signals as the test expands.
Meta has not said how long the test will run or how many users will see it. But for marketers planning India budgets, the signal is clear enough: short-form video is already the dominant discovery behaviour, and the app experience is catching up to that behaviour.
Source: TechCrunch
