In recent weeks and months, many Facebook users have noticed their old posts from years past randomly resurfacing and showing up in their feeds. This has led some to wonder why Facebook seems to be surfacing content from long ago, rather than recent posts and updates.
Facebook’s algorithms
The main reason behind this phenomenon lies in how Facebook’s algorithms work. Facebook has sophisticated machine learning algorithms that are constantly evaluating the billions of posts, updates, photos, videos, and other content that users put on the platform every day. Their aim is to show users the content that is most relevant and engaging to them at any given time.
Lately, Facebook’s algorithms appear to be placing more weight and priority on users’ older content. There are a couple factors potentially driving this:
- Facebook may be looking to resurface old content that was initially popular when first posted, but didn’t reach all of a user’s followers at the time. By giving it a new appearance in feeds, it can get more engagement.
- The algorithms may be serve nostalgia by bringing up “on this day” memories and flashbacks that are likely to interest users and get engagement.
- With over 2 billion monthly active accounts, there is simply a huge amount of content in feeds everyday – so resurfacing old posts creates more variety and prevents feeds from being dominated by only the most recent posts.
In other words, Facebook’s algorithms think your old photos, life events, and other content from years ago is still relevant and likely to get engagement, so they are intentionally bringing those back into your feed and your followers’ feeds.
Specific factors playing a role
More specifically, here are some key factors that may trigger Facebook to resurface certain old posts over others:
Initial popularity
If a post got a lot of likes, comments, and shares when it was first posted, Facebook’s algorithms will remember that and likely surface it again as a “best performing” memory.
Holidays and events
Posts related to holidays, birthdays, events, and other special occasions are highly likely to be brought back around that same time of year or on significant dates.
Location
If you posted from a certain special location like a landmark, vacation destination, etc. – especially if you tagged the location – chances are Facebook will resurface it when you are in or near that same area.
People tagged
Photos and posts you are tagged in by family members and close friends, or where you tag those people, have a good chance of being brought back up.
Reactions and comments
If a lot of people have reacted or commented on a post over the years, Facebook will notice this ongoing engagement and likely resurface it to give those who missed it initially a chance to interact.
Relationships
Major relationship status updates like engagements, marriages, new relationships, etc. often get brought back because they are meaningful moments Facebook thinks you and others may want to revisit.
So in summary, Facebook has a complex algorithm evaluating many factors around your posts to decide which ones to resurface. Anything popular, meaningful, tied to key dates, frequently interacted with, related to relationships, etc. has a good chance of coming back up.
Why Facebook does this
There are a few key reasons and motivations behind why Facebook takes the time to resurface users’ older content like this:
Drive engagement
Bringing back old, already popular posts is an easy way for Facebook to show you content it knows you have previously engaged with. This simply helps Facebook meet its most basic goal – keeping users active and engaged on the platform.
Refresh feed content
Resurfacing older posts provides more variety and prevents feeds from becoming too cluttered with only the most recent updates. It helps break up the content and showcase different time periods from users’ timelines.
Tap into nostalgia
Facebook makes a calculated gamble that users will enjoy and interact with blasts from the past – whether it’s fun memories, old photos, meaningful life events, etc. Tapping into nostalgia ticks an emotional box that keeps people coming back.
Enhance “rediscoverability”
Bringing posts back gives them a type of “rediscoverability” – a second chance to be seen and engaged with if they were initially missed by followers. Everyone’s feeds move so fast, so resurfacing great old content benefits both viewers and posters.
In short, while resurfacing old posts may seem random at times, it is actually a strategic move by Facebook to increase engagement, refresh feeds, tap into nostalgia, and improve the visibility of users’ content over time.
Pros of seeing old posts again
While some users understandably find it odd or jarring to see their years-old posts popping up, there are also a number of pros to Facebook resurfacing this type of older content. Some benefits include:
- Chance to re-engage with meaningful memories and moments
- Ability to reshare special occasions with more people
- Seeing fun blasts from the past you had forgotten about
- Feeling more connected to friends and family as you reflect together
- Opportunity for new people to discover and interact with old posts
- A throwing back, reminiscing feel that takes people back in time
In many cases, users find themselves smiling, commenting, and resharing when these old posts pop back up – exactly the kinds of engagement Facebook is aiming for.
Cons of old posts resurfacing
That said, there are also some clear drawbacks and unintended consequences to all of this old content resurfacing. Some examples include:
- Clutter – feeds can become overcrowded when old and new posts mix too much
- Redundancy – repetitiveness if the same posts keep appearing over and over
- Confusion – unclear why such old posts are suddenly appearing again
- Mistimed – poorly timed blasts from the past, like exes, old jobs, etc.
- Cringe – old posts that make you cringe with hindsight or no longer fit your identity
These factors highlight why some dislike the constant return of old Facebook posts – it lacks context, crowds the feed, and surfaces content you may no longer relate to or wish to be reminded of.
How to control visibility of old posts
If you are not a fan of your old posts popping up again, there are a few steps you can take to curate your Facebook presence and minimize this:
Adjust past post privacy
For individual posts you don’t want resurfaced, you can adjust the privacy setting to Only Me or custom groups. Just click the three dots in the upper right corner of the post.
Limit past post visibility
Under the same menu, you can also choose to show a given post to a limited group of people. Use this if you want to restrict it without making it fully private.
Delete old posts
Deleting a post is the only 100% way to guarantee it will not pop back up. But this requires deleting each post one by one.
Snooze people or groups
If old posts coming from certain people are cluttering your feed, you can temporarily snooze their posts for 30 days.
Unlike pages resurfacing content
Compared to posts, Pages have an easier audience selector tool you can use to prevent certain groups from seeing their old content.
Adjust feed preferences
Use Feed Preferences to choose to see More or Less of certain types of posts – like throwbacks or memories – to better shape your mix of content.
While you can’t completely eliminate old posts reappearing, the above options give you more ways to curate things based on your preferences.
The future of resurfaced posts
Looking ahead, here are a couple ways we may see Facebook evolve how it brings up old posts:
More user controls
Facebook will likely add options to let users specify if they want to see more or less throwbacks. This allows better customizing your own experience.
Location-based reminders
When at meaningful locations, expect Facebook to become even smarter about resurfacing relevant place-based memories for you and your connections there.
Facial recognition prompts
Facebook may use its facial recognition abilities to identify and prompt you to resurface old photos containing certain people appearing in your recent photos.
Life event reminders
Big dates, holidays, and anniversaries seem likely to trigger even more specialized prompts to re-engage with those past memories year after year.
Rather than random blasts from the past, Facebook seems to be moving towards more personalized, targeted resurfacing tied to dates, places, faces, and emotional events. But an element of randomness will likely always remain part of the process as well.
Conclusion
In summary, Facebook resurfaces users’ old posts based on their advanced algorithms determining what content is most likely to engage you and your audience. While this can seem odd or annoying at times, Facebook has logical motivations for doing so – driving engagement, tapping into nostalgia, improving visibility of posts over time, and more. You can minimize the appearances of certain old posts, but likely cannot stop them completely. Going forward, expect Facebook to get smarter about tying resurfaced posts to specific people, places, dates, and events for a more personalized and targeted approach.