Facebook follows TikTok with a new video player

The social network Facebook is introducing an update to the video player on their platform. This update brings together content from Reels, long-form videos, and live videos. The company announces this in a blog post.

When you tap on a video on the platform, it will automatically appear in a vertical format on the full screen. Before the update, they also sometimes appeared horizontally, in a more classic Facebook experience. This stops, but you can still choose to watch the video horizontally afterwards. You can also tap the sides to skip ten seconds or go back in the video.

Very similar to how it works on TikTok. It is not surprising that Meta copies a successful concept from another app, because this has happened several times before, for example with Reels, Stories, Dating and Threads.

Recommendations

In addition, video recommendations are also improved. Meta will automatically fire subsequent videos at you, and they will be more based on your interests. They had already announced earlier using AI for those recommendations.

Meta has been experimenting with Facebook’s video player for some time. In the past, they quickly followed TikTok with the introduction of Reels, the short videos on the platform. They also made videos from your own photosand the video player becomes a separate part of the app experience.

The update is coming to iOS and Android in the United States and Canada this month. The rest of the world is still waiting for a few months.