Facebook’s News Feed algorithm works to show you the posts it thinks you’ll find most interesting and relevant based on how you interact with content on the platform. This is known as the “Most Relevant” filter. If you prefer to see posts in chronological order, you can change your News Feed settings to disable the Most Relevant filter.
Understanding Facebook’s Most Relevant News Feed Filter
When you open Facebook, the default view you see is called News Feed. This is a constantly updating list of posts from people and pages you follow. Behind the scenes, Facebook’s algorithm analyzes all the posts from your connections and curates the ones you are most likely to engage with based on:
- How often you interact with certain friends or pages
- The types of posts you tend to like, comment on, or share
- How old a post is – newer posts are usually ranked higher
The goal is to show each user the posts they care most about at the top of their News Feed. Facebook calls this tailored feed the “Most Relevant” view.
Pros and Cons of the Most Relevant Filter
Here are some key advantages and disadvantages of Facebook’s Most Relevant News Feed setting:
Pros
- Surfaces the posts you are likely to be most interested in first
- Reduces the number of irrelevant or spammy posts you have to scroll past
- Keeps up engagement as users see the best posts right away
Cons
- Omits newer posts in favor of older posts you are likely to engage with
- Prevents seeing all posts in true chronological order
- Algorithm can make mistakes or misses nuances in your preferences
How to Switch to Chronological Order on Facebook
If you prefer to browse posts from oldest to newest instead of using Facebook’s ranked Most Relevant feed, you can change the settings to view a chronological News Feed. Here are the steps:
On Desktop
- Go to Facebook.com and log in
- Click the three lined “hamburger” icon in the top right > Select “Settings” near the bottom
- On the left sidebar, click “News Feed Preferences”
- Under “Prioritization,” select “Recent”
On Mobile
- Open the Facebook app and tap the three lined “hamburger” icon
- Scroll down and choose “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings”
- Tap “News Feed Preferences”
- Tap “Recent”
This will now show all posts in chronological order from newest to oldest. The change applies across Facebook on all your devices.
How Long Until the Change Takes Effect?
It may take up to 24 hours for the chronological News Feed order to fully propagate after making the change in your settings. This is because Facebook has likely already preprocessed and ranked many of your incoming posts based on the Most Relevant filter.
Be patient and it should switch over on its own within a day or so. The newer posts you see will be chronological once the backlog clears out.
Considerations When Switching to a Chronological Feed
Here are some things to keep in mind when viewing a chronological rather than most relevant News Feed:
- You may miss some top posts from friends you often engage with
- Scrolling through less relevant posts takes longer to reach the good stuff
- Spammers and low-quality posts are no longer filtered out algorithmically
- Without rankings, you need to skim and judge post relevance yourself
While chronological order gives you full control, it also removes Facebook’s curation. You’ll need to decide if you prefer algorithmic personalization or strict post timing.
Ways to Improve Facebook’s Ranking Algorithm
If you find the Most Relevant feed isn’t working well for you, there are some things you can do to try improving Facebook’s algorithm instead of disabling it entirely:
Frequently Interact with Preferred Friends and Pages
Commenting on, liking, and sharing posts from your favorite connections will signal to Facebook that you want to see more of them. Prioritize engaging with the content you enjoy most.
Use Lists to Pin Favorites
Facebook’s Lists feature lets you specifically highlight friends and pages you never want to miss. Pinned connections will be boosted in your rankings.
Temporarily Snooze Spammy Posts
If you see irrelevant posts in your feed, snoozing that friend or page for 30 days will remove them from your News Feed and teach Facebook’s algorithm in the process.
Actively Mark Preferred Post Types
When you see a post you enjoy, reacting with “Like” or other emotions will signal to Facebook you want more of that content.
| Action | Effect on Ranking |
|---|---|
| Like posts | Boosts similar posts in future |
| Comment on posts | Shows you engage with comments |
| Share posts | Increases engagement |
| React to posts | Signals the emotion you felt |
Should You Switch Back to Most Relevant?
If after viewing a chronological feed for a while you decide the curated Most Relevant feed was better, you can easily switch back.
On desktop or mobile, follow the same steps outlined above but choose “Most Recent” instead of “Recent” in your News Feed Preferences.
Pros of Switching Back
- See the most popular posts from friends up front
- Let Facebook filter out irrelevant content
- Maintain engagement as best posts are highlighted
Cons of Switching Back
- Newer posts may be buried further down
- Friends and pages are unequally ranked
- Algorithms make mistakes in ranking
Most people end up preferring the algorithmic ranking to pure chronology. But you can switch back and forth to see which works best for you.
Conclusion
Facebook offers two main ways to view your News Feed: Most Relevant and Recent. Most Relevant uses ranking algorithms to show you the posts you are most likely to engage with first. Recent displays posts in strict chronological order.
If you prefer seeing the newest posts first, you can disable Facebook’s Most Relevant filter in your News Feed Preferences. Just be aware this removes all algorithmic curation, so you may miss some great posts in the process.
Try both options for a while to see which gives you the Facebook experience you prefer.