This way you can see your friends’ posts on Facebook (and not nonsense)

Recently it has become possible again to see posts from your friends on Facebook and Instagram instead of nonsense. We’ll show you how that works.

This way you can see your friends’ posts on Facebook

Thanks to a lawsuit from a privacy organization Bits of Freedom Meta has been forced to adjust the settings of Facebook and Instagram in the Netherlands. As a result, users now have more control over their timeline. For example, in Facebook and Instagram you can now opt for a chronological overview by default with only posts from friends and accounts that you follow.

Meta itself prefers the algorithmic timeline. It not only shows posts from followed accounts, but also recommended posts and videos from strangers. The algorithm determines what you see based on your behavior and interests. Meta has therefore reluctantly adapted the apps.

That’s how it works

It has long been possible in Facebook to temporarily switch to a chronological timeline with only posts from followed accounts, but that setting was reset every time you closed the app. That has now changed. Users must always be able to specify a preferred option, it says Digital Services Act. If you enable the option now, you will see that your choice will be remembered from now on. You adjust the option as follows:

In Instagram, just like in Facebook, you can now only see posts from friends. This works in much the same way, except that you tap ‘For you’ at the top and then choose ‘Next’.

Possibly throughout the EU

If Bits of Freedom is also successful on appeal, the case could be continued. The adjustment that Meta has now made only applies to the Dutch versions of Facebook and Instagram for the time being. If Meta still violates the rules, the apps will also have to be adjusted in the rest of the EU.

Bits of Freedom is considering submitting the case to the European Commission, or helping privacy organizations in other countries start a similar lawsuit. After all, there is a good chance that judges in other countries will come to the same conclusion. The appeal is scheduled for January 26. A final ruling is expected a few weeks later. Don’t want to miss anything? Then sign up for our newsletter!