Facebook introduced Reels in 2020 as a way for users to create and share short videos, similar to TikTok. Since then, Reels have become increasingly prevalent on Facebook and Instagram. Many users enjoy watching Reels for entertainment or to discover new content creators. However, others find the auto-playing reels distracting or overwhelming, especially in their main Facebook News Feed. Fortunately, Facebook does provide a few options to control Reels and reduce their prominence in your app experience.
What are Facebook Reels?
Facebook Reels are short videos set to music or other audio that users can create and share. They can be up to 60 seconds long. Reels offer creative tools like audio selection, AR effects, timers and counters, interactive stickers, green screen, and more. Users can share reels to their profiles, news feeds, Groups, and dedicated Reels sections within Facebook and Instagram.
When viewing your News Feed or Groups feed on Facebook, reels auto-play as you scroll. The Reels tab and Reels notifications channel are dedicated places to watch reels from people and accounts you follow.
Facebook added reels to capitalize on the explosive popularity of short-form video sharing apps like TikTok. Reels provide another way for creators to produce engaging content and for viewers to be entertained as they scroll through their feeds.
Why do some users want to turn off or limit reels?
While many enjoy reels, others find them disruptive or overwhelming for a few reasons:
– Too distracting – The auto-playing videos can make it hard to focus on reading text posts in the News Feed. The constant motion and sound can feel distracting or sensory-overloading.
– Disrupt the feed experience – Some people prefer to scroll through a text and photo-based news feed and dislike the barrage of auto-playing videos interrupting their feed.
– Less relevant content – If you don’t follow a lot of creators, reels in your feed may come from accounts you don’t know and contain content you’re uninterested in.
– Data usage concerns – Auto-playing video can use up mobile data allowances quickly, especially on unlimited plans.
– Prefer other functions – Some users access Facebook primarily for text-based sharing, groups, and events rather than video entertainment. Too many reels may clutter their preferred experience.
– “TikTok-ification” concerns – Heavy reels promotion is seen by some as an attempt to mimic TikTok rather than focus on Facebook’s original purpose.
How to control reels in Facebook News Feed
Fortunately, Facebook provides a few preferences to control the amount of reels you see in your News Feed:
Turn off autoplay
The simplest option is to turn off autoplay for all videos in News Feed. This prevents reels from playing automatically as you scroll. To turn off autoplay:
1. Tap the three line Menu icon.
2. Select “Settings & privacy” then “Settings”.
3. Choose “Media and contacts”.
4. Turn off “Autoplay videos”
With autoplay off, you can tap on any reel to play it on demand.
See fewer reels
You can also choose to see fewer reels in your News Feed, without turning them off completely:
1. From your News Feed, tap the three dot “More” menu in the upper right.
2. Select “Reels and ads”.
3. Choose “Reels”.
4. Select “Show me fewer Reels like this”.
This feedback trains the Facebook algorithm over time to rank reels lower in your personalized feed preferences.
Snooze reels
If you want to remove reels from your News Feed temporarily, use the snooze feature:
1. In your News Feed, tap the three dot menu on any reel post.
2. Choose “Snooze reels for 30 days”.
3. Confirm the pop-up to snooze reels.
You can resurface reels anytime by going to the three dot menu > News Feed Preferences > Reels > End Reels Snooze.
Favor friends over reels
You can also prioritize posts from friends higher than public content like reels:
1. In your News Feed, tap the three dot menu.
2. Select “News Feed Preferences”.
3. Tap “Prioritize who to see first”.
4. Drag the slider towards friends instead of public content.
How to find and control Reels tabs
In addition to your main News Feed, reels also appear in dedicated tabs and notifications:
Reels tab
The Reels tab surfaces popular and recent reels from accounts you follow. To manage this tab:
– Delete it – Long press on the Reels tab icon and select “Unpin from shortcut bar” to remove the tab entirely.
– Disable notifications – Tap into the Reels tab, then the three dot menu, Settings & notifications > Turn off “Reels notifications”.
– Snooze it – Tap into the Reels tab, then the three dot menu, and select “Snooze Reels for 30 days” to temporarily hide the tab.
Reels notifications channel
You may see a “Reels” channel in your notifications tab containing reels recommendations. To manage these:
– Turn off notifications – Long press on the “Reels” channel and select “Turn off notifications”.
– Unfollow channel – Long press and select “Unfollow” to remove the recommendations.
How to limit reels in Facebook Groups
In addition to your personal News Feed, reels can appear when viewing Groups you’ve joined:
– Mute reels – When viewing the Group feed, tap the three dot menu on a reel > “Mute reels in this group” to stop seeing that group’s reels.
– Leave group – If a Group’s feed is cluttered with irrelevant reels, consider leaving it to avoid the content altogether.
Other ways to avoid reels
In addition to limiting reels in your News Feed and tabs, you can take broader approaches to spending less time in reel-heavy sections of Facebook:
– Use Facebook for specific purposes like Groups or Events rather than endless scrolling. Check in for your purpose then get on with your day.
– Favor the desktop site over mobile when possible to avoid autoplaying videos. Content holds still until you click in.
– Install a Facebook time limit tracker like “Unfollow Everything” to enforce daily Facebook limits.
– Delete or disable your Facebook account for periods of time when you need a total reel cleanse.
– Diversify social media use to avoid over-reliance on Facebook as your single video hub.
Conclusion
Facebook’s integration and heavy promotion of Reels aims to capitalize on the popularity of short video sharing. However, reels don’t appeal to all users and can disrupt Facebook’s original news feed experience.
Fortunately, you have many options to control reels within Facebook, ranging from snoozing reels to limiting autoplay to prioritizing posts from friends. With a few adjustments, you can tailor Facebook to focus on the content you care about most. The platform still allows for a text and image-centric experience for those who prefer it.
Overall, it is possible to minimize reels in your Facebook feed and reclaim a more personalized experience. But limiting reels does require some effort given Facebook’s business incentives to push the popular video format prominently. With the right settings and self-discipline, you can still use Facebook effectively even as reels become more dominant.