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The platform's latest updates also include a new secure way of logging in.
Social networking giant, Facebook has announced a change in its algorithm connected to the videos that show up on a user's timeline. Now, longer videos watched for more time will be given more priority in the ranking of the News Feed.
Though this doesn't impact the views of shorter videos, it enables Facebook to be more inclusive towards preferences of users who watch longer videos. "The best length for a video is whatever length is required to tell a compelling story that engages people, which is likely to vary depending on the story you're telling," adds the post.
This change is being rolled out gradually, and will impact user timelines over the coming weeks. Currently, for its publishers, its main competitor for videos- YouTube, categorises videos based on watch time. And, while the latter offers pre-roll ads, Facebook is reportedly testing mid-roll ads, which appear only after 90 seconds.
Facebook has also added a new way to log in to accounts, using security keys. This is done to negate the phishing scams that target user passwords, irrespective of whether they access the network from their phone or PC.
With security keys, users can access Facebook by tapping the physical key plugged into their computing device at the time, to further authenticate identity after punching in the password. At present, USB security keys are compatible with the Chrome and Opera web browsers, and with near field communication (NFC) compatible Android smartphones. The use of this feature requires users to purchase a physical USB security key device.