Facebook is overhauling its video experience to mimic the full-screen, vertical orientation popularized by TikTok and Instagram Reels. The social media giant confirmed Wednesday that it is rolling out an updated video player that will make vertical video the default across Facebook’s iOS and Android apps.
The move represents Facebook’s latest effort to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving social video landscape. Short-form vertical video has become the dominant format on mobile devices, driven by the meteoric rise of TikTok and the proliferation of Reels across Instagram and other platforms.
Under the new design, all videos on Facebook—including Reels, Facebook Live streams, and long-form uploads—will automatically display in a full-screen, 9:16 vertical aspect ratio. The vertical player will become the primary video viewing experience, though horizontal videos can still be watched in landscape mode.
The video interface itself is getting an overhaul as well. A seek bar along the bottom will allow users to scrub through videos, while new control icons will provide capabilities like pausing and rewinding. The updated player borrows heavily from the TikTok blueprint that has proven wildly popular with mobile users.
Facebook’s previous video system toggled between multiple aspect ratios based on the content. Longer videos are often displayed in a horizontal orientation, for example, while shorter clips are played vertically in-feed like Stories. That disjointed experience will give way to a uniform, streamlined approach optimized for handsets.
The new full-screen player will begin rolling out to Facebook’s iOS and Android apps for users in the United States and Canada over the next few weeks. A worldwide launch across all other regions will follow in the ensuing months.
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