Following Mark Zuckerberg’s hint at a return to the original Facebook experience earlier this year, the social media platform has announced an update that simplifies connections with friends. The company is introducing a new Facebook Friends tab, which will exclusively display updates from friends, devoid of any recommended content. As explained in a Meta blog post, the goal is to revive features that focus on Facebook’s original mission of connecting people with friends through a social networking experience.

Initially available in the U.S. and Canada, the tab will feature friends’ content, including posts, Reels, stories, birthdays, and friend requests.

Previously, the tab only provided a space to view friend requests and suggestions for “People You May Know.”

In October, the company launched a redesign focused on Gen Z, aiming to attract a younger audience that has largely abandoned Facebook in favor of other social apps like Instagram or TikTok. The earlier changes emphasized connecting users to community information, Facebook Groups, and video content.

However, during the company’s Q4 earnings call in January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned that a “return to OG Facebook” was among his key objectives for 2025.

Zuckerberg expressed his belief that there are opportunities to make Facebook more culturally influential, stating, “I think some of this will kind of get back to how Facebook was originally used back in the day.”

Although the CEO did not specify the changes that would be implemented, the Friends tab update marks the first of many updates scheduled to roll out this year.

In a blog post, Meta acknowledged that Facebook needed to return to its roots, stating, “Over the years, Facebook evolved to meet changing needs and created best-in-class experiences across Groups, Video, Marketplace, and more, but the magic of friends has fallen away.”

The new Friends tab can be accessed through the navigation bar on Facebook’s Home Feed and is also available in the Bookmarks section of the app.

Users have the option to pin their Friends tab to their Home Feed for added convenience. To do so, they can navigate to “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings” > “Tab bar,” where they can customize their tab bar and pin the new tab.