Facebook’s News Feed is powered by an algorithm that determines what content shows up in each user’s feed. This algorithm, which Facebook calls the News Feed ranking algorithm, takes into account thousands of signals to determine which posts are most relevant to each individual user. One of the ways the algorithm determines relevance is through shortcuts – a feature that allows users to pin pages, groups and friends to the top of their News Feed for easy access.
What are shortcuts?
Shortcuts are a News Feed feature that allows users to pin pages, groups, events and friends to the top of their feed. When a page, group, event or friend is pinned as a shortcut, new posts from that entity will be bumped to the top of the News Feed.
This allows users to ensure they see updates from their favorite pages, groups and friends every time they check Facebook. For example, pinning a friend as a shortcut means you’re more likely to see their new posts and life updates. Pinning a group as a shortcut helps guarantee you’ll see new discussions and activity happening within that group.
Shortcuts provide a level of feed customization and prioritization – they let you signal to Facebook’s algorithm the types of content you want to see first in your News Feed.
How does Facebook determine which shortcuts to show you?
Facebook’s algorithm looks at a number of factors to determine which shortcuts to show each user, including:
Pages and public content you’ve interacted with
The pages and public content you engage with most frequently are likely to show up in your shortcuts. This includes liking, commenting on or sharing a page’s posts, engaging with its videos, or visiting its website. Frequently interacting with a page or public content signals to Facebook you want to see more of it.
Friends you interact with often
Friends you interact with frequently (liking, commenting, messaging, etc.) are more likely to be recommended as friend shortcuts. Interacting with a friend’s content tells Facebook’s algorithm you want to stay updated on their posts.
Groups and Events you’re active in
Groups and events you actively participate in by posting, commenting and reacting will often show up as shortcuts. This helps ensure you see updates from communities and events you’re invested in.
Recency of your interactions
Facebook also considers how recently you’ve interacted with a page, public post, friend, group or event. More recent interactions tend to get higher priority as shortcut recommendations.
History of usage
If you have a long history of frequently interacting with a particular page, friend or group, Facebook’s algorithm is more likely to continue surfaced it as a top shortcut. Consistent engagement signals ongoing interest.
Pages and profiles you’ve explicitly followed or liked
Facebook will likely include pages and public profiles you’ve purposely followed or liked in your shortcuts. This provides an easy way to stay updated on content you’ve proactively opted into.
How Facebook ranks your shortcuts
The order in which shortcuts appear is also determined algorithmically based on relevance. Shortcuts are ranked according to the same principles of recency, frequency and history of interaction outlined above.
The pages, friends, groups and events you engage with the most actively and recently will be ranked higher in your shortcuts. Content you historically interact with less may get demoted lower down the shortcuts list over time.
When are shortcuts shown?
Shortcuts appear at the very top of your News Feed, above all other stories. Up to 12 shortcuts display on desktop and 8 on mobile.
Shortcuts only appear when you’re viewing News Feed. They won’t display on your Timeline or profile.
Managing and customizing your shortcuts
While Facebook’s algorithm determines much of your shortcuts, you do have some ability to customize them:
- You can pin or unpin any shortcut. Pinned shortcuts will stay in place until you manually unpin them.
- You can hide any shortcut. Hidden shortcuts can be restored.
- You can rearrange your shortcuts. Drag and drop them to customize the order.
- You can add your own non-recommended shortcuts by selecting “Add Shortcut” and typing in a name.
Through this, you can curate a selection of your most desired shortcuts while hiding or removing ones you don’t want. However, Facebook’s algorithmic recommendations will continue surfacing other shortcuts it thinks may be relevant to you over time.
Why Facebook uses shortcuts
Facebook introduced shortcuts as a way to improve users’ News Feed experience and increase engagement on the platform. Benefits include:
- Helping ensure users see content they’re most interested in at the top of their feeds.
- Allowing for feed customization and personalization.
- Providing easy access to frequently visited content.
- Keeping users engaged by making preferred content readily available.
- Potentially increasing user retention, satisfaction and interaction with feeds.
For Facebook, recommending relevant shortcuts is a win-win – it helps them show you content you actually want while keeping you engaged on site.
Controversy around shortcuts
While shortcuts aim to improve the user experience, some argue the feature gives too much influence to pages and profiles that get pinned as defaults.
Critics note that large media outlets and celebrities often end up as common shortcuts, meaning their content gets amplified significantly. This could potentially lead to issues like:
- Increased filter bubbles and selective exposure – you only see content from pages you already frequent.
- Reinforcement of existing beliefs and opinions.
- Domination by influencers and public figures.
- Biased narratives driven by popular pages.
- Suppression of smaller, lesser known voices.
This critique argues Facebook should diversify shortcut recommendations more to provide a balanced news diet. However, Facebook believes its algorithm accounts for many signals and factors to determine relevant shortcuts for each user.
Conclusion
In summary, Facebook leverages complex machine learning algorithms to analyze your usage patterns and recommend shortcuts personalized to your interests and habits. Shortcuts aim to enhance your News Feed experience by highlighting the content most relevant to you. While the feature has faced criticism around filter bubbles and selective exposure, Facebook maintains that its recommendations reflect each user’s personalized engagement history. The company sees shortcuts as a useful News Feed customization tool.