Facebook’s birthday reminders feature has gone through some changes over the years. This handy tool used to proactively remind users about their friends’ birthdays by displaying notifications in their feeds. However, Facebook removed this feature for many users in recent years, leading to confusion and complaints.
When did Facebook birthday reminders start?
Facebook first introduced birthday reminders in 2009 as part of the platform’s evolving events system. At the time, users could enable birthday reminders to receive notifications about their friends’ birthdays. The feature became popular, as many people appreciated the convenience of Facebook proactively reminding them to post birthday wishes.
How did the original birthday reminders work?
When first introduced, Facebook’s birthday reminder system worked by cross-referencing users’ friends lists with the birthday dates in those friends’ profiles. Leading up to a friend’s birthday, the platform’s algorithm would begin showing reminders in the user’s News Feed.
These reminders typically included the friend’s name, profile picture, and birthday date. Clicking on the reminder took users directly to the friend’s Timeline to post a public birthday message or photo.
When did Facebook make changes to birthday reminders?
In 2014, Facebook rolled out its first major change to birthday reminders. Instead of displaying reminders proactively in the News Feed, they were now only visible on friends’ actual birthdays.
Rather than showing reminders ahead of time, users would only see a “Say Happy Birthday” button on the day of a friend’s birthday. This button was displayed at the top of the News Feed on desktop or in the notifications tab on mobile.
How did users react to the 2014 update?
These changes received considerable backlash from users who preferred the old notifications system. The biggest complaint was that only seeing reminders on the day itself defeated the purpose of proactively alerting users about friends’ birthdays.
Many people missed the advance notifications enabling them to plan birthday posts or messages. Critics said the updated system placed the burden entirely on users to remember birthdays on their own.
When did Facebook introduce more changes?
Despite the complaints, Facebook went ahead with another redesign in 2016. This update removed the dedicated birthday reminders altogether. Instead, birthdays were now highlighted directly on friends’ Timelines.
Rather than reminder notifications, users would have to navigate to a friend’s Profile to see a banner or indicator about their birthday. Many users missed the automated prompts and found the new system ineffective.
How does Facebook highlight birthdays now?
Currently, Facebook highlights friends’ birthdays in a couple of ways:
- A birthday banner or icon on the friend’s Profile picture
- “Say Happy Birthday” button on the friend’s Timeline
- Birthday mentions in the “On This Day” feed module
However, there are no longer proactive automated reminders about friends’ birthdays in advance or on the day itself. Users have to manually check for birthday indicators on each friend’s Profile.
Why did Facebook remove the old birthday reminders?
Facebook has not officially explained its rationale for phasing out the original birthday notifications. However, there are a few likely reasons the company moved away from proactive reminders:
- To emphasize personal memory and engagement rather than relying on prompts
- To increase visits to friends’ Timelines for more organic birthday interactions
- To avoid bombarding users with too many notifications
Essentially, Facebook wants to keep birthday mentions on the platform while making them less automated and impersonal.
Is there any way to re-enable old style notifications?
Unfortunately, there is no official option within Facebook’s settings to re-enable the old proactive birthday reminder notifications. The company has given no indication these will return in their original form.
However, some third-party browser extensions claim to provide an alert service similar to the classic reminders. Examples include Birthday Reminder for Facebook and Birthday Notifier for Facebook.
Keep in mind these tools involve sharing login access to your account with an outside service. Make sure to assess privacy protections and risk before using extensions requiring extensive permissions.
What do users think about the changes?
The removal of Facebook’s birthday reminders remains an unpopular change with many users. Some common complaints include:
- Having to remember birthdays without prompts is inconvenient
- People miss the notifications ahead of time to plan birthday wishes
- Checking Timelines daily for birthdays takes more effort
- Birthdays are easier to inadvertently miss now
- On This Day resurfaces sad memories for some bereaved users
However, other users argue the new system is better because:
- Prompts feel impersonal and take less thought
- Too many notifications can seem spammy
- Visiting Timelines makes engagements more meaningful
- Birthdays remain visible for those who want to check
Over time, most users have adapted to the changes. But many still believe bringing back the classic reminders would improve the platform.
Have other social networks changed their birthday features?
Facebook is not the only social network that has evolved its birthday notifications over time. Here is a comparison of how some popular platforms handle birthdays:
| Platform | Original Reminders | Current Reminders |
|---|---|---|
| Proactive News Feed notifications | Timeline banners only | |
| Push notifications | Stories banners only | |
| None | None | |
| Snapchat | Memories photos | Memories photos |
The trend seems to be moving away from proactive reminders and toward more passive birthday highlight features across leading platforms. But some still offer push notifications as an option.
Conclusion
Facebook’s removal of automatic birthday reminder notifications was an unpopular change that many users still lament. The previous system of News Feed prompts ahead of friends’ birthdays provided a convenient way to remember special occasions.
However, Facebook decided to emphasize organic Timeline visits and memorization rather than external notifications. While adapted to by most, this shift remains frustrating for users who appreciated the handy reminders.
Bringing back some form of optional birthday notifications could be a popular platform improvement. But for now, manually checking Timelines remains the only way to avoid missing friends’ birthdays.