How the Facebook Algorithm Works in 2025

The Facebook algorithm has a big job. It decides what content billions of people see on their screens every day.

Here’s the really cool part. The algorithm isn’t some unknowable mystery black box. It’s a logical system that rewards authentic conversations, engaging formats, and creators who know how to keep audiences coming back for more. And you can leverage it to get more reach, followers, and customers.

In this guide, you’ll learn how the Facebook algorithm works to rank content on the app. You’ll get tips to improve your reach and see examples from brands that know how to use the algorithm for their benefit. Let’s get growing!

What is the Facebook algorithm?

The Facebook algorithm is a system that combines artificial intelligence and rules-based decision-making to determine which content users see when they scroll through their feed. The algorithm creates a personalized experience, attempting to expose the posts, Reels, and Stories each user is most likely to engage with.

The Facebook algorithm seeks to share content that its users will engage with, like this tutorial on fixing a sink that has over 5,000 likes.

The complex algorithm evaluates thousands of signals, including previous user interactions, content type, content publishers, and previous engagements, to set its recommendations.

It’s helpful to remember that, above all else, Facebook prioritizes increasing user engagement. So as its algorithm evolves, it’s mostly done to serve that goal.

How does the Facebook algorithm work?

The Facebook algorithm works by ranking all possible posts you could potentially see and predicting which ones you’re most likely to find meaningful or engaging. It gathers signals and uses predictive models to rank content in your feed.

Every time you open the app, the algorithm has to answer:

• What content can it show?
• What does it know about the post?
• How relevant will it be to the user?

Let’s look at how the Facebook algorithm answers these questions.

The four steps of ranking content

The algorithm uses a four-step process to fill your screen with unskippable images, text, and videos:

• Review the inventory: Facebook collects and reviews the set of posts shared by your friends and from the pages you follow.
• Consider the signals: Then, the algorithm considers hundreds of thousands of signals from the available inventory of posts. It looks at things you’d expect, like who posted the content and when it was posted, as well as more subtle signals like what time it is now and how fast the internet connection is.
• Predict how the content will be received: Here’s where the magic of Facebook’s over 100 prediction models comes in. They assess all the information from the first two steps to make an educated guess at how likely you are to do things like watch a video to completion, comment on a Story, and so on.
• Apply a relevancy score: Finally, the algorithm gives every piece of available content a score based on how relevant it is to you. The highest-scoring content lands in your feed first.

Great content, relevant to your audience, will make its way through Facebook’s selection process.

Recommended vs. connected content

The Facebook algorithm serves up two types of content: connected and recommended. The system strives to show you a mix of both, and there are nuances to how each is ranked.

• Connected content: These are posts from friends, accounts you’re following, and groups you’ve joined. Most of the posts you see fall in this category, and it’s chosen based on how you’re connected to the publisher and how you’ve interacted with similar content.
• Recommended content: This includes posts published by accounts you aren’t friends with or following, but that may have some relevance to you. Facebook recommends this content based on how you’ve interacted with similar content from similar publishers.

Facebook content standards

You can’t discuss the Facebook algorithm without mentioning the platform’s two sets of content standards. If you run afoul of these rules, no amount of relevance or connection will get your post past the algorithm’s filters.

Facebook’s Community Standards are rules about what people can and can’t share on the platform. They cover areas like:

• Violence and criminal behavior: Threats, terrorism, organized crime, and the like.
• Safety: Think bullying, harassment, suicide, or self-injury content.
• Objectionable content: Includes hate speech, adult nudity, and sexual exploitation.
• Integrity and authenticity: This covers misinformation, fake accounts, spam, etc.
• Respecting intellectual property: Things like copyright and trademark rights are covered here.

Recommendation Guidelines are the rules that govern what content Facebook will not suggest to users in areas like Groups, Pages, Marketplace, or the main feed. Even if a post doesn’t break Community Standards, it may still be downranked or excluded from recommendations if it could create a poor or unsafe experience.

These guidelines restrict things like:

• Borderline content: Sensational, misleading, or low-quality posts.
• Sensitive topics: Health claims, political or civic content, and unverified information.
• Potentially unsafe or inappropriate material: Violence, sexually suggestive content, and spammy links.

The Facebook algorithm vs. other social media algorithms

Another way to contextualize how the Facebook algorithm works is to compare it to other popular social media sites. Here’s a quick rundown of their key differences:

• Facebook algorithm: It prioritizes meaningful interactions between friends, family, and groups. Its ranking factors lean heavily on relationship strength, type of content, engagement, and recency.
• TikTok algorithm: The TikTok algorithm focuses on the discovery of new-to-you creators through its For You Page (FYP). Ranking factors center around previous interactions (watch times, likes, etc.), video information, and your device and account settings.
• Instagram algorithm: Instagram’s algorithm takes a blended approach that balances both personal connections and trending, engaging content. Its ranking factors rely on relationship history, engagement signals, and relevance to your interests, among others.
• X (formerly Twitter) algorithm: Real-time conversations and trending topics are at the forefront of what X’s algorithm shares most. It ranks content heavily on recency, engagement, and personalization to the user.

Giveaways are a great way to juice the Facebook algorithm with engagement.

User controls

Even though the algorithm is always working in the background to order the content on your feed, you have considerable control over what it chooses to show you. Here are several of the most prominent user controls you can apply to influence the algo:

• Favorites: You can mark certain friends or Pages as Favorites so their posts appear higher in your feed.
• Snooze: Temporarily hide posts from a person, Page, or Group for 30 days without unfriending or leaving.
• Unfollow: Stop seeing posts from someone entirely while still staying connected.
• Hide Post/See Fewer Like This: Tell the algorithm you don’t want to see similar content in the future.
• Feed Preferences: A settings hub where you can manage Favorites, Snooze, Unfollows, and reconnect with people/Pages to shape your feed experience.

Facebook algorithm updates and trends to know about

If there’s one thing constant about Facebook’s algorithm, it’s change. Here are some trends to be conscious of as you post throughout 2025 and beyond.

Prioritizing Reels

Starting around 2023, Facebook began increasing the weight given to short-form video content. They started pushing Reels into feeds and recommendations. This was likely a response to the popularity of TikTok.

For brands, that means it’s time to experiment with some quirky, little, fun, and educational videos if you want to expand your Facebook reach.

Even dentists can have some fun with Facebook Reels.

AI-driven content recommendations

Given Mark Zuckerberg’s big AI push, it’s no surprise that Meta rolled out more AI-powered suggestions in the Feed, surfacing posts from outside your friend network if they’re predicted to be relevant.

Hyper-relevance for your target audience is the name of the game here. Learn their vernacular and pay attention to the content they react to. Use that insight to publish posts they’ll like and share.

Clickbait and engagement bait downranking

Meta is explicitly targeting obviously spammy content and taking steps to lower its reach. That either means penalizing their content in the rankings or removing accounts that coordinate fake engagement posts.

Source

It’s a good time to steer clear of spammy tactics. If you’re not sure whether what you’re about to publish is clickbait, ask yourself, “Will this genuinely help my target audience, or am I posting this strictly for engagement?”