Meta continues to enhance Facebook with new tools aimed at improving user experience, boosting content visibility, and helping brands and creators stay ahead. Here is a breakdown of the most significant recent updates and how they can be leveraged for better engagement and platform performance.
Meta Verified: Enhanced Tools for Subscribed Users
Meta Verified is no longer just a badge. The subscription now includes protection for original content, priority placement in search results, and new analytics for engagement tracking.
Why it matters: These benefits help creators stand out and protect their work, while giving them data-backed insights to refine content strategies.
Larger File Sharing in Messenger
Messenger now allows users to send files up to 100 MB in size, supporting formats like Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PDFs.
Why it matters: This is a major quality-of-life improvement for professionals and small businesses using Messenger for client communication or internal sharing.
Return of the “Friends” Tab
Facebook has reinstated the “Friends” tab, showing content only from people you’ve added—without algorithmic suggestions or sponsored posts.
For regular users, this represents a shift back to Facebook’s original roots as a friend-centric social network. For brands, it presents a challenge: content may be seen less often unless users actively engage. However, it also opens the door for more intentional interactions — if a brand builds strong community ties and gets followed directly by individuals, it increases the chance of appearing in this tab. It’s a call for more authentic relationships between businesses and audiences. As of March 2025, Facebook automatically deletes Live videos after 30 days unless saved or transferred to external storage.
Why it matters: It gives users a cleaner, more personal experience and offers an alternative to the algorithm-driven main feed.
Auto-Deletion of Live Videos After 30 Days
As of March 2025, Facebook automatically deletes Live videos after 30 days unless saved or transferred to external storage.
Why it matters: This encourages timely content archiving and may affect brands that use Lives for long-term campaigns or tutorials.
Cross-Posting WhatsApp Statuses to Facebook and Instagram
Users can now share WhatsApp statuses directly to their Facebook and Instagram Stories.
For small businesses or influencers using WhatsApp to share time-sensitive offers, behind-the-scenes content, or short updates, this feature eliminates the need to recreate content separately for Instagram and Facebook. For example, a café could post its daily menu as a WhatsApp status and have it automatically appear as an Instagram Story and Facebook Story — saving time and maximizing reach. The cross-posting flow is seamless and can be toggled on/off in WhatsApp settings.
Why it matters: This simplifies content distribution across Meta platforms and helps maintain consistency in messaging.
New Features in Meta Ads Manager
Meta Ads Manager now includes audience feedback (reviews and ratings on ads), direct message initiation from lead ads, real-time chat with prospects, and one-click data download for leads.
Why it matters: These tools streamline lead generation, improve customer communication, and make ad performance more transparent.
Community Notes Replacing Fact-Checking Partnerships
Meta is transitioning from third-party fact-checkers to a crowdsourced Community Notes system, where users can add contextual information to public posts.
Why it matters: While still in testing, this system aims to increase transparency and community participation in moderating content.
Final Thoughts
Facebook is becoming more interconnected with other Meta products while also shifting toward creator empowerment and user control. Whether you use it for personal networking or business growth, these updates offer valuable opportunities to improve your presence and impact.
