Facebook shows suggested videos in your News Feed based on a variety of factors, including your interests, pages you follow, and videos your friends have watched or shared. The goal is to show you content that Facebook thinks you’ll find relevant and engaging.
What types of suggested videos may I see on Facebook?
There are a few main categories of suggested videos you may encounter on Facebook:
- Videos from pages you follow
- Popular videos your friends have watched or shared
- Videos related to your interests and online activity
- “Recommended for You” videos based on pages you follow and other engagement signals
- Paid video ads from advertisers
For example, if you follow a lot of food and recipe pages, you’ll likely see more suggested cooking videos. If your friends are sharing certain viral videos, Facebook may show those to you as well. And advertisers can pay to promote their videos to specific demographics based on interests and online behaviors.
How does Facebook know what videos to suggest to me?
Facebook uses complex machine learning algorithms to analyze a wide range of signals and data points to select suggested videos. Some of the factors that influence suggested videos include:
- Pages, groups, hashtags and accounts you follow
- Engagement with posts, such as likes, comments and shares
- Your profile information and listed interests
- Videos your friends and connections have watched and engaged with
- Pages and accounts you’ve recently interacted with
- Videos you’ve watched in the past, how long you watched them, and your reactions
- Topics trending across Facebook based on total engagement
- Paid promotions from advertisers targeting your demographics and interests
Facebook compiles vast amounts of behavioral data across billions of users to fuel its recommendation algorithms. The goal is to keep you engaged on the platform by showing you content it believes aligns with your tastes and preferences.
How often does Facebook refresh the suggested videos?
Facebook’s recommendation algorithms are constantly running behind the scenes to update the suggested videos you see. In general, the suggested video feed is refreshed:
- Multiple times per day
- When you open the Facebook app
- After you finish watching a video
- After you engage with a post (like, comment, share)
- When new videos are posted to pages you follow
So the videos shown to you are dynamically updating based on your ongoing activity and engagement across Facebook. The more you interact with certain types of content, the more it will influence which suggested videos appear at the top of your feed.
How can I influence the videos Facebook suggests to me?
There are a few ways you can provide direct signals to Facebook about the types of videos you want to see:
- Follow pages and accounts that regularly post videos you like
- “Like” and comment on suggested videos to see more similar content
- Click the dropdown on a video you’re not interested in and select “Not Interested”
- Click on the three dots above a video and choose “Don’t show posts like this”
- Update your Facebook profile with accurate interests that influence suggested content
Engaging frequently with video content around topics you enjoy will cause Facebook’s algorithms to prioritize showing you more of that type of content over time. The more signals you provide by actively liking, commenting on, and watching certain videos, the more Facebook will tune your suggestions.
Why can’t I remove suggested videos entirely?
Showing suggested posts and videos is a core part of Facebook’s platform. The goal is to create a constantly updating stream of engaging content tailored to each user’s interests and preferences. Removing suggested video content altogether is not an option within Facebook’s system.
Facebook is designed around the principle of social discovery – helping you discover new content and accounts you may be interested in based on signals like your friends, pages followed, and profile information. Suggested videos are a big part of powering that discovery.
How do I limit suggested video content on Facebook?
While you can’t eliminate suggested videos completely, here are some ways to potentially limit their prevalence:
- Follow a narrower selection of pages and accounts to restrict signals Facebook uses
- Be more selective in liking, commenting on, and sharing videos to tighten relevance
- Use the “Not Interested” and “Don’t show posts like this” controls aggressively
- Provide negative feedback by hiding or unfollowing accounts that post irrelevant content
- Spend less time actively watching videos on Facebook
- Adjust ad preferences to limit topics that can be used for video suggestions
Essentially, being more judicious about your interactions and reducing total time watching videos can reduce the pool of content Facebook has to suggest videos from. But you cannot eliminate suggestions completely, as it is core to the platform.
Can I control suggested videos in my Facebook News Feed?
You have some control over suggested videos that appear in your main News Feed:
- Prioritize posts from connections by adjusting News Feed preferences
- Follow a narrower group of pages/accounts to constrain signals
- Use “Unfollow” rather than “Unfriend” to remove unwanted content
- Provide feedback on suggested posts using the menu options
- Limit ad topics that can be used for video suggestions
However, you cannot eliminate or fully control suggested video content in your feed. These recommendations are central to Facebook’s algorithmic curation. The best options are providing direct feedback on irrelevant suggestions, and limiting signals by being selective in following pages and engagement.
Can I stop videos auto-playing in my Facebook feed?
Yes, you can disable the auto-play feature for videos in your Facebook feed:
- Click the down arrow at the top right of Facebook and select “Settings”
- Click “Videos” in the left column
- Uncheck the box next to “Autoplay Videos”
This will stop videos from automatically playing as you scroll through your feed. You’ll have to manually click on each video to watch it. Disabling autoplay can make for a less cluttered experience.
However, this will not actually remove suggested videos from your feed or reduce their frequency. Videos will still appear among suggested posts, they just won’t instantly start playing without your direct engagement.
Can I provide feedback to Facebook on suggested video relevance?
Yes, Facebook does provide ways for you to give direct feedback when a suggested video seems irrelevant or unwanted:
- Click the three dots above the video and select “Don’t show posts like this”
- Choose “Not Interested” from the dropdown menu on the video
- Click on the page/account name above the video and use the menu options
- Adjust your ad topic preferences in Facebook’s “Ad Settings”
Providing this type of explicit feedback will help train Facebook’s algorithm over time to avoid showing you similar content. Any feedback you can provide on unwanted suggested videos will gradually improve relevance.
Should I report inappropriate suggested videos?
If any videos suggested by Facebook contain offensive, dangerous or otherwise concerning content, you should absolutely report them. Here’s how:
- Click the three dots in the upper right corner of the post with the video
- Select “Report post” from the dropdown menu
- Choose the option that best describes your reason for reporting
- Submit your report to Facebook for review
Facebook relies on user reports to identify policy-violating content like hate speech, harassment, and dangerous misinformation. Reporting problematic videos when you see them helps keep the platform safer.
Conclusion
Facebook suggests videos based on complex algorithms analyzing your activity, interests, friends, and online behaviors. While you can’t eliminate suggestions completely, you can provide feedback on irrelevant content, follow fewer accounts, and limit your video watching to improve relevance. Suggested videos are core to Facebook’s platform, but you have some tools to constrain them.