PostEaseThe short answer
Facebook’s Feed gathers every recent post a person could see from their friends, the Pages they follow and the groups they have joined, predicts what they are likely to do with each, and shows the posts with the best predictions first. Reels works the same way but reaches further, adding reels from accounts the viewer does not follow. Meta publishes both systems’ predictions in its Transparency Center, last updated in June and October 2026.
The predictions that recur are about attention, not just reactions: will someone scroll past without stopping, how long will they spend on the post, will they watch a reel to the end, will they ask to see less like it. A post that holds people is ranked up; a post people pass is ranked down.
What Feed and Reels predict
These are a selection of Meta’s listed predictions, in its own terms, with where each system finds its posts.
| System | Where posts come from | Some of what it predicts |
|---|---|---|
| Feed | Friends, Pages you follow, groups you have joined | Scrolling past without engaging, clicking a link and the time spent on that site, engaging with group posts, interacting with friends or groups |
| Reels | Accounts you follow, reels like ones you engaged with, and accounts like the ones you follow | How long you will watch, watching to completion, watching rather than skipping, asking to see less, hiding a reel |
What that means for a Page
Read the predictions as a list of what a post has to earn:
- Stop the scroll. Feed’s first listed prediction is whether a person will scroll past without engaging, and Meta counts how often someone quickly scrolls past the same friend’s posts.
- Hold attention. Meta lists average time spent on each post among Feed’s signals. A post worth reading for thirty seconds does more than one glanced at.
- Earn the click, then deliver. For link posts, Feed predicts both the click and the time spent on the site afterwards, so a link that disappoints counts against the post as well as the click.
- Finish the reel. Reels predicts completion, and counts how often others watched a reel to the end.
- Avoid “see less”. Both systems predict whether a person will hide a post or ask to see less like it.
Reels are how a Page reaches new people
Feed is built from accounts and groups a person already chose, so a Page’s feed posts mostly reach people who already follow it. Reels draws on reels similar to ones a viewer engaged with and on accounts similar to ones they follow, which is how a Page with a small following is found by strangers. Meta’s own description of Facebook Reels calls it content from creators you may not follow.
That makes the split of a Page’s week a choice of audience: feed posts to keep followers, reels to find new ones.
Followers can skip the ranking
Two controls bypass the predictions. Favorites lets a person pick people and Pages to move higher in their Feed, and the Following view shows the accounts they follow in reverse chronological order. A follower who adds your Page to Favorites sees your posts more reliably whatever the predictions say, so it is fair to ask your most engaged followers to do it.
Viewers can now tell it what they want
On 13 October 2026 Meta began rolling out Your algorithm on Facebook, a space in each post’s three-dot menu where people add and manage the topics they want to see in Feed and Reels. After someone taps Interested or Not interested, Facebook may also ask follow-up questions, and people can answer in their own words. Meta says large language models now let the ranking take those requests into account and adjust within the same session. For a Page, it means viewers can ask for more or less of a topic directly; Meta has not said how much these requests weigh against the other signals.
What costs a post reach
On Facebook, posts lose reach when people pass them or hide them. Meta’s system cards list predictions such as scrolling past without engaging and asking to see less, so stock images, vague first lines and bait all count against a post. Meta has demoted engagement bait (“LIKE this if…”) on Facebook since 2017. Reels that people skip early lose the watch-time predictions Reels ranks on.
Questions
Does Facebook show my Page’s posts to all my followers?
No. Feed ranks every post a person could see by its predictions, so your post competes with their friends, groups and other Pages. Followers who add you to Favorites, or use the Following view, see you more reliably.
Can I see Facebook in chronological order?
Yes. The Following view shows the accounts you follow in reverse chronological order. The main Feed stays ranked by predictions.
How do I get my Page’s posts seen by more people?
Post things people stop for and stay on, since scrolling past and time spent are what Feed predicts. Use reels to reach people who do not follow you yet, and ask your most engaged followers to add the Page to Favorites.
Does Facebook punish posts with links?
Meta’s Feed card does not describe a penalty. It predicts whether a person will click a link and how long they will spend on the site afterwards, so a link people click and stay on is ranked by that, and one they leave quickly is not.
Do groups get more reach than Pages?
Group posts are part of Feed’s inventory for members, and Feed predicts how strongly a person intends to engage with group posts. A group’s posts reach the members most likely to take part, which is a different audience from a Page’s followers.
What matters most for Facebook Reels?
Watch time and completion. Meta lists how long a person will watch, whether they will watch to completion, and whether they will watch rather than skip, and counts how often others finished the reel.
Sources
- Meta, Your Algorithm, Your Words: New Ways to Shape What You See on Facebook, October 2026.
- Meta, Facebook Feed AI system, October 2026.
- Meta, Facebook Reels AI system, June 2026.
- Meta, Fighting engagement bait on Facebook, December 2017.
- Meta, Our approach to Facebook Feed ranking, June 2025.