Facebook redesigns app and website around groups and IRL connections

Facebook is introducing a new design to its app and website, and it’s all about groups. Today at F8, the company unveiled an updated version of its app and website that crams groups into about as many places as possible. 

The redesigned version of the app is starting to roll out now, and the desktop changes will be coming later this year.

The biggest change is, well, everything. Both Facebook’s app and website look completely different (and, like new Twitter, very very white). Seriously, if you thought Facebook’s last major redesign came with a lot of extra white space, you’ll probably find the newest look even more jarring. 

The familiar blue bar at the top is gone — replaced with a big, bright Facebook logo — and the navigational icons have moved to the top of the app. Stories icons are much larger and the status update box is smaller and less prominent. 

Besides the cosmetic changes, the new Facebook emphasizes groups at just about every turn. You’ll see recommendations for groups you may want to join in Marketplace, Facebook Watch and other sections of the app. And you can opt to share a post directly to groups from your News Feed.

Facebook says groups, which counts 400 million, are among the most “meaningful” ways people use Facebook, which is it made the feature the focus of its redesign. To really emphasize the “meaningful connections” side of things, Facebook introduced a “Meet New Friends” feature that will “help people start friendships with new people from their shared communities like a school, workplace or city.”

The feature, which is still being tested, is a bit like Facebook’s dating feature, but for friendships (though it will almost certainly be used to try and score dates too). By connecting it to the city you live or groups you’re already a part of, Facebook will help you find people around you who may also be looking for offline friendships.

It’s an interesting idea — and one that makes more sense in the context of Mark Zuckerberg’s push  to turn Facebook into a “privacy-focused” social network around private communication, though it’s less clear why Facebook needs a dedicated friend-finding feature if its groups are so meaningful in the first place.

Speaking of dating and meeting people in IRL, Facebook is also expanding its dating service to 14 new countries in South America and Asia, including Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana, and Suriname. Anyone who opts in to Facebook Dating will also be able to use the new “secret crush” feature.