Facebook is rolling out updates today in a bid to increase engagement and make the platform more organized for its users. In the offing are new apps for sellers on Marketplace; a verification system to prove you are human on services like Dating, Marketplace, and Groups; and a new immersive design for video.
Facebook Marketplace sees more than 430 million monthly listings, and with more than 1.1 billion active users, it is a big reason younger folks still use the platform.
To keep this momentum going, Facebook is launching a separate app for people who list and sell items on the platform frequently. Dubbed “Seller,” the app lets sellers manage their listings, message buyers, and track the performance of items.
Facebook is also rolling out a free verification system called Facebook Verified — not to be confused with Meta Verified, which lets you subscribe for a verification mark and other features.
The new system lets people take a selfie to verify their authenticity as a real user, and then the verification mark will show up on their profile across Facebook Dating, Marketplace, and Groups. The verified mark looks like a check mark within a white circle, unlike the blue badge you can get by paying for Meta Verified.
The company said it is also testing an optional, immersive, full-screen video view for the Facebook app that pops up as soon as you open it. This update will initially be rolled out to “video-heavy” international markets, and make its way to the U.S. next year.
Facebook said users can turn off this UI to go back to the feed-based interface. The company has tested a similar update with Instagram in several markets.
New app releases are turning into a routine course of action for Meta, which has ramped up its app development to engage different sets of users. In May, it debuted a Reddit-like app for Facebook Groups called Forum, and this month it released a vibe-coding app called Pocket.
The company said it plans to add AI to the app to help users automate tasks such as writing descriptions of items they want to put up for sale, or search through groups to answer questions.
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Ivan covers global consumer tech developments at TechCrunch. He is based out of India and has previously worked at publications including Huffington Post and The Next Web.
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