Facebook is testing an in-app search engine for mobile that will allow users to search for websites and articles using keywords-yes, pretty much like how Google works.
The feature was seen on some iOS phones, where an "Add a Link" option can be found when users are about to update their status on Facebook, next to the location, photos, and feeling icons. All a user has to do is type in a keyword or query, and then the social media site will provide a preview of what the sites are currently featuring.
According to Tech Crunch, the results seem to vary depending on what the user typically shares, and it also highlights sites that are recently posted by many. The searched data is also structured since it is based on what the user actually cares about, which is far from how Google works.
At the moment, the trial is only available to some iOS users in the United States. Facebook also told the tech website that it has indexed more than one trillion posts so it can allow users to look for links that were shared with them.
While the effort from Facebook is to please users, it looks like it's also a way for the social media site to attract websites in posting content directly on FB, sources say. If content are posted directly on the site, there will be no need for users to go somewhere else, Tech Crunch explained.
Facebook has always maintained a good relationship with users, and has announced that it will "always be free," when rumors about the site charging for membership went around a few years ago. However, many were not impressed when the company created a separate app for mobile chat.
At the time, news went around that Zuckerberg just didn't want Facebook to end up like other social media sites such as Friendster, which became irrelevant to users after a few years.
The social media giant had also recently deleted inactive and fake accounts to ensure that users' experience remain realistic, so as the followers on Facebook pages.
