Is a Facebook algorithm limiting you to 26 friends in your newsfeed? Fact Check

Messages spreading on Facebook claim the website’s ‘new algorithm’ now chooses only 25 or 26 of your Facebook friends to appear on your newsfeed.

The rumour comes in the form of your typical “copy and paste” status update that also implores readers to type “hi” (or some equally arbitrary comment) on the update to ensure the person commenting appears on the newsfeed of the person posting the status update.

The message is nonsense. This is the latest drivel authored by someone with little understanding of how the Facebook newsfeed works or the processes behind it. Earlier in the year, another hoax started circulating claiming that “Facebook has a new algorithm” that also urged readers to comment ‘hey’ or with an emoji.

And now we have a baseless claim asserting Facebook are limiting your newsfeed to 25 or 26 friends, which can be bypassed by a “copy and paste” status, as per examples below.

Friends It Worked!!!
Hello I ignored this post earlier, because I thought I was seeing all the posts my friends were posting. Then I checked the timelines of several friends that I hadn’t heard from for awhile, and I discovered that I have been missing all of their posts.😢
Here’s how to avoid hearing from the same 26 FB friends and nobody else. This post explains why we don’t see all posts from our friends. Funny, thought if I followed you on Facebook I would see what you post. Not anymore 🤷🏻‍♀️
Your Newsfeed recently shows only posts from the same few people, about 25, repeatedly the same, because Facebook has a new algorithm. 🙅🏻‍♀️
Their system chooses the people who will read your post. However, I would like to choose for myself, Therefore, I ask you all a favor – If you are reading this message leave me a quick comment, a “hello”, a sticker, whatever you want, so you will appear in my news feed‼️
Otherwise Facebook chooses who to show me and I don’t need facebook to choose my friends! 🤬
Do not hesitate to copy and paste on your wall so you can have more interaction with all your contacts and bypass the system. That’s why we don’t see all posts from our friends.😮
Thanks for the heads up from those who already copied and pasted the above. Hold your finger down anywhere in this post and “copy” will pop up. Click “copy”. Then go to your page, start a new post on your page, then put your finger anywhere in the blank field. “Paste” will pop up and click paste

– collected July 2018

Guess what, friends…. Facebook’s algorithm now chooses your 26 FB friends. If you can read this, please leave me a “hi,” whatever, so you will appear in my news feed.
Feel free to copy and paste on your wall, too, if you want to see more than FB’s algorithmic selection. FB shouldn’t choosing my friends.

– collected March 2018

Fighting this Facebook algorithm change, because I’m totally noticing I am not seeing so many of my friends’ posts😐
Here’s how to avoid hearing from the same 26 FB friends and nobody else. This post explains why we don’t see all posts from our friends. Funny, thought if I followed you on Facebook I would see what you post. Not anymore 🤷🏻‍♀️
Your Newsfeed recently shows only posts from the same few people, about 25, repeatedly the same, because Facebook has a new algorithm. 🙅🏻‍♀️
Their system chooses the people who will read your post. However, I would like to choose for myself, Therefore, I ask you all a favor – If you are reading this message leave me a quick comment, a “hello”, a sticker, whatever you want, so you will appear in my news feed‼️
Otherwise Facebook chooses who to show me and I don’t need facebook to choose my friends! 🤬
Do not hesitate to copy and paste on your wall so you can have more interaction with all your contacts and bypass the system. That’s why we don’t see all posts from our friends.😮

– collected March 2018

I was beginning to think I’ve been blocked by a few people then I read this. I ignored this post earlier, because I thought I was seeing all the posts my friends were posting. Then I checked the timelines of several friends that I hadn’t heard from for awhile, and I discovered that I have been missing all of their posts.😢
Here’s how to avoid hearing from the same 26 FB friends and nobody else. This post explains why we don’t see all posts from our friends. Funny, thought if I followed you on Facebook I would see what you post. Not anymore 🤷🏻‍♀️
Your Newsfeed recently shows only posts from the same few people, about 25, repeatedly the same, because Facebook has a new algorithm. 🙅🏻‍♀️
Their system chooses the people who will read your post. However, I would like to choose for myself, Therefore, I ask you all a favor – If you are reading this message leave me a quick comment, a “hello”, a sticker, whatever you want, so you will appear in my news feed‼️
Otherwise Facebook chooses who to show me and I don’t need facebook to choose my friends! 🤬
Do not hesitate to copy and paste on your wall so you can have more interaction with all your contacts and bypass the system. That’s why we don’t see all posts from our friends.😮
Thanks for the heads up from those who already copied and pasted the above. Hold your finger down anywhere in this post and “copy” will pop up. Click “copy”. Then go your page, start a new post on your page, then put your finger anywhere in the blank field. “Paste” will pop up and click paste.

– collected March 2018

Please – We need your help to stay in this social network. Say something about our posts (yes, yum or smile emoticon will do) or we’ll completely disappear from your news feed. Appreciate your help.

– collected July 2018

Crazy…it worked! After reposting this to all my friends, my newsfeed showed a WHOLE new batch of friends’ posts I haven’t been seeing.
Here’s how to avoid hearing from the same 25 FB friends, due to FB’s new algorithm. 🙅🏻‍♀️
If you are reading this message, do me a favor and leave me a quick comment…a “hello,” a sticker, whatever you want, so you will appear in my newsfeed‼️
Then, copy and paste onto your wall so you can have more interaction with all your contacts. Just hold your finger down anywhere in this post and “copy” will pop up. Click “copy”. Then go to your page, start a new post on your page, then put your finger anywhere in the blank field. “Paste” will pop up and click “paste.”
Thanks

– collected July 2018

Well it’s my turn. I didn’t really believe that you had to do this, but after watching all of you posting it, I did notice that I have been getting posts from only about 25 of my 500+ friends…compliments of the new Facebook algorithm.
Therefore, I ask you all a favor – If you are reading this message leave me a quick comment, a “hello”, a sticker, whatever you want, so you will appear in my news feed‼️
Otherwise Facebook chooses who to show me and I don’t need facebook to choose my friends! Hold your finger down anywhere in this post and “copy” will pop up. Click “copy”. Then go to your page, start a new post on your page, then put your finger anywhere in the blank field. “Paste” will pop up and click paste. Hope this works for those of us who don’t want fb telling us which of our friends we can follow. see if I pasted this

– collected August 2018

(For more information on how Facebook chooses what appears in your newsfeed, see our article here.)

The messages are all complete nonsense. The important details are these… there is no upper limit on how many friends can appear on your newsfeed. Those you rarely interact with are less likely to appear on your newsfeed, and those you interact with regularly are more likely to appear. There are also a number of other factors that come into play. This has always been the case since the early days of Facebook. Facebook doesn’t “choose” your friends for you, it does not place any limit on how many friends appear on your newsfeed, and does not have a “new algorithm”.

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Facebook takes in a number of factors when deciding if a post made by one user will appear in the newsfeed of another. These can include (like we said above) how often the two Facebook users interact with each other, how “important” Facebook thinks a particular post is (posts announcing engagements, for example, are given an extra boost,) how many mutual friends are interacting with a post, as well as a number of other variables. Facebook has always done this; this isn’t a recent change. While Facebook is always fine-tuning the processes behind the newsfeed (meaning you may notice changes) the fundamental principles we’ve just outlined above remain the same.

So yes, interacting with a friend regularly improves your chances of them appearing in your newsfeed in the future. But “copy & paste” messages are not a magic key that can bypass the complex decision making processes that govern the Facebook newsfeed. Merely typing ‘hi’ in response to these “copy & paste” messages will have little-to-no effect.

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Additionally, failing to interact with these types of posts doesn’t limit you to “25 or 26” friends in your newsfeed. This appears to be some arbitrary “limit” randomly given by the person who started these nonsense rumours. How you use Facebook and who you interact with will determine who and what appears in your Facebook newsfeed. For example, users who interact with a small number of friends a lot are likely to see a small number of friends frequency grace their newsfeed, while another user who interacts with lots of users but less intensely is likely to have a more diverse newsfeed.

Presumably, all Facebook users interact with the platform and their friends to some degree, and Facebook will use that information (and other data) when deciding which friend’s posts to show in your newsfeed.

For more information on how Facebook chooses what content appears in your newsfeed, read our article here.