TL;DR
- There is no single “Facebook algorithm”: Feed is ordered by many machine learning models working together, and Meta has published 22 “system cards” describing them for Facebook and Instagram.
- Ranking runs in four steps: collect candidate posts (inventory), read signals about each one, predict how you are likely to react, then combine those predictions into one score.
- More of your Feed comes from strangers: a growing share of posts is recommended by AI from accounts you do not follow, not just from friends and Pages you chose.
- You have more controls than most people use: the Feeds tab, “Show more, Show less” and “Why am I seeing this?” all change or explain what you see.
- EU law sets a floor: under the Digital Services Act, very large platforms such as Facebook must explain their main ranking parameters and offer at least one option not based on profiling.
Contents
- What the Facebook algorithm actually is
- How Feed ranking works in four steps
- What signals Meta says it uses
- The shift to recommended content
- The controls you actually have
- What the EU Digital Services Act changed
- What this means for users and businesses
- FAQ
Every time you open Facebook, there are far more posts available than you will ever scroll through. Something decides the order. Meta calls it ranking and has published a fair amount about how it works. This guide sticks to what Meta and EU regulators have said on the record, not the “post at 7 p.m. with five hashtags” folklore.
What the Facebook algorithm actually is
“The algorithm” is a convenient shorthand for a stack of machine learning systems. In June 2023 Meta said: “Today, we are releasing 22 system cards for Facebook and Instagram.” Each card covers a separate system, for example Facebook Feed, Feed recommendations and ranked comments.
The goal Meta states is not “maximum clicks”. Its engineers described the objective as “creating the most long-term value for people by showing them content that is meaningful and relevant to them.” Whether that can be measured without leaning on engagement is a fair question.
How Feed ranking works in four steps
Meta’s 2021 engineering explainer walks through the process for a fictional user. The numbers are Meta’s illustration, not a live statistic.
| Step | What happens | Meta’s description |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Inventory | The system gathers every post you could be shown: from friends, groups, Pages and recommendations | Feed has to work this out “for more than 1,000 posts, for each of the billions of users” |
| 2. Signals | Each post is described by data points, such as who posted it, when, and what format it is | “there are thousands of signals that we need to evaluate” |
| 3. Predictions | Several models estimate how likely you are to like, comment, share or spend time on it | A lightweight model “narrows the pool of candidates to approximately 500 of the most relevant posts” |
| 4. Score | The predictions are merged into one number and posts are sorted | Meta combines “these varying predictions into one score that’s optimized for our primary objective of long-term value” |
The order matters. A post cannot be ranked highly if it never makes it into your inventory, which is why reach for a business Page is mostly decided long before anyone “beats” anything.
What signals Meta says it uses
Meta does not publish the full list, and it says why: “we also need to be careful not to disclose signals which might make it easier for people to circumvent our defenses.” It does say that the categories it released “represent the vast majority of signals currently used in” Facebook Feed ranking.
From Meta’s own examples, the signals fall into a few broad groups:
| Signal group | Examples Meta has given |
|---|---|
| About the post | Who is tagged in a photo, when it was posted, whether it is a video, photo or link |
| About your history | How often you have interacted with this person, Page or creator before; whether you tend to watch videos or look at photos |
| About similar content | How similar the post is to other items |
| What people say they value | Survey answers: Meta says “we survey people to ask how meaningful they found an interaction with their friends” |
The survey part is easy to miss. The system learns not only from clicks but from what people report as “worth their time”.
A related question comes up constantly: does Facebook listen to your conversations to decide what you see? We cover that separately in does Facebook listen through your microphone.
The shift to recommended content
The old News Feed was mainly about people and Pages you had chosen. That changed. In July 2022 Facebook renamed its main tab Home and said: “This is where you will discover new content through recommendations in addition to connecting with your friends and family.”
On Meta’s earnings call later that month, Mark Zuckerberg said about 15% of content in Facebook feeds was then served by Meta’s AI, according to TechCrunch. He added: “We expect these numbers to double by the end of next year.” Meta publishes a separate system card for Feed recommendations. Recommending unconnected content is now its own system.
In plain terms: your Feed is no longer a list of what your network posted. It is a mix of your network and posts from strangers that Meta’s models predict you will engage with.
The controls you actually have
None of these switches ranking off completely, but they do change it.
| Control | What it does | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Feeds tab | Shows recent posts from friends, Favorites, Pages and groups. Meta says you can use it “to switch to a chronological Feed” | Feeds tab in the Facebook app |
| Favorites | A list of people and Pages whose posts you always want to see | Feeds tab |
| Show more, Show less | Tells the models you want more or less of a kind of post. Meta says it is “available on all posts in Feed, Video, and Reels” | Three-dot menu on a post |
| Why am I seeing this? | Explains which of your past activity may have led to an ad, or to some Feed posts, being shown | Three-dot menu on a post or ad |
| Feed Preferences | Meta’s central place for Feed controls | Settings |
Quotes in this table come from Meta, June 2023 and Meta, July 2022. Note that the Feeds tab is not the default. Every time you open the app, you land on Home, which is ranked. Convenient for Meta.
What the EU Digital Services Act changed
The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) puts specific duties on recommender systems. Article 27 requires online platforms to set out “in plain and intelligible language, the main parameters used in their recommender systems”, including “the criteria which are most significant in determining the information suggested”.
Larger platforms have an extra rule. Under Article 38, very large online platforms “shall provide at least one option for each of their recommender systems which is not based on profiling.” The European Commission designated Facebook as a very large online platform on 25 April 2023.
Meta’s response, announced in August 2023, was to give European users “the option to view and discover content on Reels, Stories, Search” without personalisation, with Stories and Reels “ranked in chronological order, newest to oldest” and Search results “based only on the words they enter”. For the main Feed, the chronological Feeds tab already existed. The non-personalised options are available, not default, so ranking still decides what most people see.
The Commission has also looked at the design around the feed. On 10 July 2026 it preliminarily found that “Meta did not adequately assess the risks of its addictive design on the physical and mental wellbeing of users”, naming “infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and the platforms’ highly personalised recommender systems”. Preliminary findings are not a final decision.
What this means for users and businesses
For ordinary users. What you engage with trains what you get. If your Feed feels off, “Show less” and the Feeds tab do more than scrolling past and hoping. “Why am I seeing this?” is the clearest window Meta offers into its reasoning.
For businesses posting on Facebook. A few things follow directly from Meta’s own description:
- Your followers are not guaranteed to see your posts. You compete in the same inventory as their friends, groups and recommended content.
- Posts can now reach people who do not follow you, through recommendations. That is opportunity and dependence at the same time.
- Meta optimises for what people say is “worth their time”, not only for clicks. Bait that earns a reaction but annoys people works against the stated objective.
- Meta deliberately hides signals that would help people game the system. Anyone selling a guaranteed “algorithm hack” is guessing.
The same logic, systems choosing on your behalf, now extends to AI assistants. See how AI search chooses its sources.
FAQ
How does the Facebook algorithm decide what I see?
It gathers posts you could see, reads thousands of signals about each, predicts how you are likely to react, and combines those predictions into a score. Posts are then shown in score order.
Can I turn off the Facebook algorithm?
Not fully. The Feeds tab shows recent posts from friends, Favorites, Pages and groups, which Meta describes as a chronological Feed, but the app opens on the ranked Home tab each time.
Why does Facebook show me posts from pages I don’t follow?
Because Meta now recommends content from unconnected accounts. In 2022 Mark Zuckerberg said about 15% of Facebook feed content was served by Meta’s AI and expected that to double.
Does the EU let me use Facebook without personalisation?
Yes, partly. The DSA requires very large platforms to offer at least one recommender option not based on profiling. Meta added non-personalised options for Reels, Stories and Search in the EU.
Does posting at a certain time beat the Facebook algorithm?
Meta does not say so. Timing is one signal among thousands, and Meta withholds signals that could help people game ranking, so treat specific “best time” rules as guesses.
Sources: Meta – How does News Feed predict what you want to see? (2021) · Meta – How AI influences what you see on Facebook and Instagram (2023) · Meta – Home and Feeds on Facebook (2022) · Meta – New features as the Digital Services Act comes into effect (2023) · TechCrunch – Zuckerberg’s feed plans (2022) · DSA Article 27 (Springlex) · DSA Article 38 (Springlex) · European Commission – Designated VLOPs and VLOSEs · European Commission – Preliminary findings on Instagram and Facebook addictive design (2026)
About the Author
👉Want guest posting?🪙Subscribe to the @egorithms Telegram