Meta Platforms Inc is testing a new “Local” tab on Facebook that will surface content for users based on their location, part of the company’s broader effort to recommend posts that users may not otherwise see.

The tab will feature posts about neighbourhood activities and items for sale pulled from Facebook Marketplace and Groups. It will debut in a handful of major US cities to start, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas.

The move reflects Facebook’s goal to broaden users’ feeds beyond content shared by their social graph, the term for a user’s friends and family, while still maintaining an element of personalisation.

It’s a strategy that Meta has started to employ more heavily in recent years on Facebook and Instagram as a way to attract younger users. Tom Alison, head of Facebook, announced the new local feature at an event in Texas on Friday.

“We’re adding features that help young adults – and all Facebook users – explore their interests and connect with the world beyond their close friends,” Meta wrote in a blog post. Company executives have said that young people often visit Facebook when they go through major life changes, like moving to a new city, which was one reason for adding the local feature.

Meta has tried to surface local posts to users in the past. It previously launched a standalone app dedicated to local events and posts, called Facebook Local, but later discontinued it.

The company also said that it’s testing a new “Explore” tab, which will use an algorithm to tailor content to users’ interests, and an updated full-screen video tab that will display Reels and other videos more prominently in the app. Young adults spend almost 60% of their time on Facebook watching videos, according to Meta’s blog post. 

 - Bloomberg