uniladtech homepage
  • News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Facebook is bringing back iconic feature for the first time in 21 years to attract young people
Home>Social Media>Facebook
Published 14:50 5 Sep 2025 GMT+1

Facebook is bringing back iconic feature for the first time in 21 years to attract young people

This comes after Facebook reported a 13 times surge in the feature’s usage

Rikki Loftus

Rikki Loftus

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
Featured Image Credit: Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta
Social Media
News

Advert

Advert

Advert

Facebook is bringing back an iconic feature for the first time in 21 years.

The change-up is said to be made in an attempt to attract young people back onto the platform.

Over two decades since it was first launched, the Meta site is bringing back an old classic.

Once more, you will be able to ‘poke’ your friends as the feature is being revamped.

Advert

In a post explaining the update, Facebook said: “Pokes never really left but they’re making a comeback in a major way. Now you can see who poked you and find other friends to poke.

“See your poke-count with friends grow each time you poke each other.”

Mark Zuckerberg is attempting to attract young people back onto the platform (Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mark Zuckerberg is attempting to attract young people back onto the platform (Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The social media giant added that people will also have the ability to dismiss unwanted pokes.

Last year, Facebook claimed that poke was ‘having a moment’ after it reported that there had been a 13 times surge in the feature’s usage.

While Facebook continues to take top place as the most popular social media platform in the world, it has struggled to gain new users in recent times.

Now, it seems that Mark Zuckerberg has his sights set on a younger audience, hoping to lure gen z over from other apps such as TikTok and Snapchat and back onto his OG platform.

Earlier this year, the mogul made an appearance on the Colin and Samir podcast where Zuckerberg talked about his decision to bring back a different feature to Facebook - the ‘Friends’ tab.

He said: “This is phase one of bringing back OG Facebook. A lot of the fun and useful parts of the original experience, we just sort of didn’t focus as much on. And not only did we not focus on them as much, but... I realised no one else actually recreated a lot of these things that used to be pretty magical about Facebook either.

This comes after Facebook reported a 13 times surge in the feature’s usage (Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
This comes after Facebook reported a 13 times surge in the feature’s usage (Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“I actually think that there's this whole opportunity that I think is going to be pretty fun to to go after and build, which is just to kind of go one-by-one and build up a a bunch of these things that used to be these joyful experiences that people had as part of Facebook that just kind of don't exist on the internet today.”

Others have reacted to the news over the poke button, with one user saying on Reddit: “It was fun with friends back in the olden days. Now who even uses fb?”

Another said: “My mom's going to love that.”

And a third person added: “Zuckerberg desperately needs a product win, it seems.”

Choose your content:

a day ago
4 days ago
6 days ago
  • Rebecca Luna / GoFundMe
    a day ago

    TikToker, 49, issued heartbreaking final message before ending life after battle with Alzheimer's

    Rebecca Luna's tragic passing was confirmed by her daughter

    Social Media
  • MindSquire / YouTube
    4 days ago

    YouTubers spent two months tracking down an online troll then drove seven hours to confront him

    He gave him a dose of 'instant karma'

    Social Media
  • NurPhoto / Contributor via Getty
    6 days ago

    Instagram releases new update that has people 'sobbing' tears of joy

    The update solves a problem that has annoyed users for years

    Social Media
  • Reckless Ben / YouTube
    6 days ago

    Reckless Ben releases shocking unseen bodycam footage as viral LEGO saga takes dark new turn

    The story has evolved from simply wanting LEGO returned

    Social Media
  • Facebook revives money-making feature two years after closure users say is a real 'slap in the face'
  • People in disbelief at what Mark Zuckerberg's Meta AI just launched on Facebook
  • Jaw-dropping messages Mark Zuckerberg sent to friend just weeks after launching Facebook
  • Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram to test controversial new feature