Facebook announced on Wednesday, big changes are coming to the social media’s mobile app, including profile videos and a more useable layout.
The company’s Facebook Newsroom blog announced new changes are currently being tested on a small batch of iPhones in California and the U.K. Most notably, Facebook is experimenting with profile videos, which will allow people to film seconds-short videos that would play on a loop in lieu of traditional profile pictures.
“Soon, you’ll be able to film a short, looping video clip that will play for anyone who visits your profile,” Aigerim Shorman and Tony Hsieh wrote in the company’s official announcement. “Profile videos will let show a part of yourself you couldn’t before, and add a new dimension to your profile.”
The social media giant is also testing a new mobile setting that will allow users to curate a space on their profiles intended to highlight their interests and hobbies. After the testing phase ends, all profiles will have a section at the top of the page where users can showcase five pictures intended to exemplify the people and things that are most important to them. This unnamed section will serve as a visual bio of sorts, updating friends and viewers of life milestones like weddings, new jobs or births.
“You’ve always been able to control who can see the information you showcase on your profile, and now we’re making it easier for you to see what others can view by introducing a new customizable space at the top of your profile. You can curate this space— and convey what you want people to know about you,” Facebook’s announcement stated.
The overall layout of the mobile profiles is also changing, making users’ s profile pictures/videos front and center on their timelines — not off to the corner. And when users are stalking people they just friended, Facebook will put the most interesting pictures and information toward the top of the timeline, to ensure new friends can get to know the person better. (RELATED: Facebook Testing Dislike Button For Sad, Depressing Statuses)
“People love seeing photos and mutual friends when viewing the profiles of friends or someone they’ve just met, so those are easier to see now on profile,” Shorman and Hsieh wrote in the post. “Photos and friends are right at the top, making getting to know someone and seeing the world through your friends’ eyes as easy as scrolling.”
Facebook did not announce when these changes will be available to all users, but the tech firm “can’t wait to see how people use them” during the testing phase.