Facebook Wants to Be Like Instagram Again

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Is the metaverse finally out and Facebook back in? Meta’s latest redesign of Facebook suggests exactly that.

After years of chasing VR worlds and rebuilding itself around Horizon dreams no one really asked for, Facebook is doubling back to… Facebook, but with an Instagram twist.

This week, Meta announced a sweeping makeover focused on friends, simplicity, and the one feature quietly keeping the platform relevant with younger users: Marketplace.

Double-Tap to Like? Yes, Really.

Facebook is now borrowing directly from Instagram’s playbook. Photos in the Feed will appear in a clean grid, tappable to open full-screen, and yes, you can now double-tap to like them.

Search is also getting an immersive grid and a new full-screen viewer so you can browse photos and videos without losing your place.

Stories and post creation also get a redesign: cleaner, simpler tools, easier music and tag options, and more obvious cross-posting controls.

It’s Instagram logic applied to Facebook, a platform long overdue for UX coherence.

Marketplace Is Facebook’s Secret Gen Z Gateway

While Meta keeps trying to lure Gen Z back into Facebook proper, the answer has been hiding in plain sight: Marketplace is booming with young users. More than half of Gen Z Facebook users in the U.S. open Marketplace, and one in four young adults use it daily.

Until now, Marketplace was buried in a menu. That’s changing. A new bottom navigation bar, featuring Marketplace, Reels, Friends, and Profile, puts buying and selling front and center.

Comments, Replies, and Control. A Refresh for Conversations

Meta is also tuning up the social glue:

Streamlined replies
More visible badges
Pinning tools
Better moderation controls
Anonymous reporting for irrelevant or disruptive comments

It’s a small but important shift: comments are still where community and culture collide, and Meta knows creators want more control without more chaos.

Profiles Are Getting Personal Again (But On Your Terms)

Facebook wants to revive the OG idea of sharing what you’re into, TV shows, music, hobbies, travel plans, with one key difference: you can choose whether those updates hit the Feed.

Meta says this new layer of interests will help connect friends around shared passions. Realistically, it’s also a softer, more opt-in version of Facebook’s old “tell us everything so we can target ads better” era.

Maybe this time, users will actually bite.

A Return to Facebook’s Core Identity

Meta’s pivot isn’t subtle. After years of chasing the next platform, the company is finally looking at what still works:

Friends
Photos
Marketplace
Reels
Simple interactions

It’s Facebook trying to be Facebook again, but with 2025 UX standards.

Whether this is enough to make the platform feel relevant (or just less chaotic) remains to be seen. But for the first time in a long time, Facebook’s product changes are rooted in how people actually use the app today, not in sci-fi futures about digital avatars. And honestly? That might be the smartest move Meta’s made in years.