In a defining strategic pivot, Meta is collapsing its entire video ecosystem on Facebook into a single format. The company announced that all videos uploaded to the platform will soon be shared exclusively as Reels. This change eliminates the long-standing distinction between traditional Feed videos and the short-form, vertical format.
The move aims to radically simplify a fragmented creation process for users and brands. Over the coming months, a unified publishing flow will replace the separate toolsets previously required for different video types. In its official blog post, Facebook confirmed the “Video” tab will be renamed the “Reels” tab, creating one central hub for all video content, including long-form and Live recordings.
For users, the change promises a more consistent viewing experience, though it raises questions about how horizontal videos will adapt to a vertical-first player. For Meta, it represents a decisive step to streamline its platform and sharpen its focus in the relentless battle for user attention.
A Unified Backend for a Simplified Frontend
This public-facing change is the culmination of a massive, behind-the-scenes technical overhaul. The unification was preceded by a year-long engineering effort to merge the separate backend infrastructures for Facebook Watch and Reels. This consolidation was critical to address platform fragmentation that created redundant work for both engineers and advertisers.
The complexity of this task involved merging two distinct data models and codebases. A Meta engineering blog post noted the challenge, stating that merging the systems “took a lot of auditing and debugging” while ensuring the interactions between code layers were maintained. By resolving this technical debt, Facebook can now offer a single, streamlined set of tools and privacy controls, which users will be prompted to confirm when the changes roll out.
Responding to a Competitive Landscape
A 2024 study from Metricool revealed that Facebook Reels lagged significantly behind rivals, with its average views and engagement ratios trailing far behind TikTok and even its sister platform, Instagram Reels. This data underscores the urgency behind Meta’s push to make its video products more compelling.
The company’s approach has evolved considerably. While previous reports from February 2025 suggested Meta was considering spinning Reels into a standalone app, the company has instead chosen deeper integration. This aligns with its recent launch of “Blend” on Instagram, a feature for shared Reels discovery among friends.
In a leaked internal meeting, CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted the company was initially “slow” to react to TikTok’s rise, saying, “When I look back on TikTok, I think part of the reason why we were slow to it is because we didn’t think TikTok was social. We looked at it and we thought, ‘Oh, this is like, a little more like YouTube.'”
A case study from Mind the Product revealed that simply encouraging creators to cross-post their Instagram content is an ineffective strategy. The study found that audiences on Facebook perceived cross-posted content as “inauthentic,” leading to lower engagement.
The research identified the main barrier for traditional Facebook creators as the “lack of expertise & friction in producing reels content.” By simplifying the creation process into a single flow, Meta is directly addressing this friction. This move is complemented by efforts to streamline monetization, with the company rolling out a single monetization program to replace several previous, separate income streams for creators.
An Algorithmic and Cross-Platform Evolution
Facebook’s feed has moved aggressively toward an interest-based discovery model, where up to half of a user’s content can come from accounts they don’t follow. This makes a unified, high-performing video format essential for creator reach.
This strategy mirrors moves made on Instagram, which began automatically converting video posts to Reels in 2022. The failure of earlier standalone video products, such as IGTV, has clearly taught Meta that integration, not separation, is the more viable path forward.
By betting everything on a single, unified format, Meta is hoping to finally create a cohesive and compelling video ecosystem that can hold its own.
