Meta is betting that users will discover creators before checking their Feed

Google

Krati Darak is the Senior Editor at The Creators Index, where she leads everything editorial, from coverage decisions and story direction to the voice of India's...

Follow:

4 Min Read

Meta is now testing on Facebook the same basic idea it has already tried on Instagram: make Reels the first thing some users see when they open the app.

Contents

Instagram tried it first
Facebook is now applying the same idea to a very different app
For creators, the first screen becomes more valuable

In India, some Facebook users are being taken straight into a full-screen Reels feed instead of the traditional Feed, as per Techcrunch. They can switch back, and Classic Feed remains available as another tab. The tests on Facebook and Instagram are separate, but there is not much difference in the product idea. Meta is experimenting with making Reels the front door of both apps.

Instagram tried it first

Instagram tested a Reels-first home experience with a limited group of users in India in 2025. A newer test spotted by app researcher Radu Oncescu appears to let users choose Reels as the feed Instagram opens into by default.

View on Threads

Facebook is now doing almost the same thing. Facebook head Tom Alison said in July that Meta would test a full-screen video opening experience in video-heavy countries outside the US. India is now one of those markets. Neither app has removed its traditional feed, and neither test has been announced as a full rollout.

Facebook is now applying the same idea to a very different app

The more interesting part is where Meta is taking the experiment next. Instagram already revolves heavily around Reels and recommended content. Facebook has traditionally opened around a mixed Feed of friends, Pages, Groups, photos, links and video.

Facebook has also changed what “Reels” means on the app. Meta announced in 2025 that all newly uploaded Facebook videos would be published as Reels, regardless of length or format. A Reels-first Facebook therefore does not necessarily mean a screen filled only with short TikTok-style clips. It means video becomes the opening layer of the app.

That makes the Facebook test a bigger change to the app’s traditional starting point, even if the basic idea has already been tested on Instagram.

A Quick Pause

Like this story? get the next one in your inbox.

One sharp briefing, every Tuesday. Free, forever

For creators, the first screen becomes more valuable

For creators, this is about placement, not a new ranking rule. Meta has not said static Feed posts will lose distribution or that Reels will be ranked differently for users in the test. But the first screen is valuable real estate. If Facebook opens directly into video for more users, creator videos get a chance to be discovered before people reach the classic Feed.

Meta’s India research found that at least 97% of surveyed users watched video on its platforms every day, while 89% of Gen Z respondents watched Reels daily. TCI has also tracked how Instagram is increasingly positioning Reels as a discovery surface for creators.

The broader direction is simple: Instagram tried Reels-first first, and Facebook is now getting the same treatment in India.

Author

Krati Darak

Krati Darak is the Senior Editor at The Creators Index, where she leads everything editorial, from coverage decisions and story direction to the voice of India's first dedicated creator economy publication. She's spent over five years in digital media and has done a bit of everything — at Thomson Reuters, she covered legal news, deals, appointments, and rankings. At LBB, she pretty much led Mumbai coverage, digging up the city's hidden gems (if you've found one through them, there's a good chance she wrote about it). She's also worked as a commerce editor at StyleCraze and has written for D2C beauty brands like Foxtale, WOW Skin Science, SkinQ, and more.