It’s no secret that mobile is Facebook’s main priority these days, and the company is apparently experimenting with a new layout for user profiles in its app.
Italian user Marco Menaballi tweeted a screenshot earlier this week, spotted by The Next Web, of his Facebook profile that had a new look, with a small square profile photo in the middle and a different configuration of some buttons. This design seems to be the same as a test on iOS spotted by VentureBeat in early July, which could have started even in May. Facebook confirmed at the time that it was doing some testing.
#Facebook is evolving its mobile layout. Once the pic will be into a circle it definitely will change into #google+ pic.twitter.com/65JHgL9KCm
— Marco Menaballi (@menazone) August 19, 2015
However, it’s still unclear whether the company really plans to roll out this new look, though the increase in testing could be a sign it is. We’ve reached out to Facebook and will update if we hear more.
The new profile design seems to emphasize photos. The profile photo, which is normally in the left corner, is now in the center, the new design nudges the user towards action like posting a status update, adding more details to their profile, or writing up a short bio that’s displayed fairly high on the profile. In VentureBeat’s screenshot, a user’s friends are also displayed with much bigger photos, and cover photos (the big one in the background) can be swiped through to view all of them.
As Facebook continues to focus on mobile, it’s likely looking for better ways to keep its users engaged (clicking on more things, spending more time) and feeling like they’re getting value and information from the time they spend on it.