Facebook waves goodbye to blue bar in major redesign of its mobile app

From allegedly enabling Russian forces to influence the 2016 US election to a major data breach, via having to sort of admit that the decision to hoodwink media publishers into pivoting towards video might have been based on, errr, absolutely nothing, it’s fair to say that Facebook has had a rocky few years.

However, in an attempt to stop users from leaving the social media platform in their millions, Mark Zuckerberg and his metric-minded, tech-savvy Silicon Valley dwellers have decided now’s the perfect time to redesign the app.

There are two major elements to this rejig. The first is that the big blue bar that’s dominated the top of your Facebook-browsing experience for so long that it feels as familiar as a jumper you bought on foundation year, is going. Yep, gone.

In addition to that, subtle changes have been made to the brand’s logo, with a lighter shade of blue set to be etched onto your retina after another day spent scrolling through the digital detritus of life online in 2019.

These alterations and others (all of which are meant to make using Facebook feel more like using Instagram) are rolling out on the app first before being transplanted to the desktop version of the site.

Announced yesterday at the company’s annual F8 event, Facebook states that this new look is “simpler, faster, more immersive and puts your communities at the center,” with a focus on groups and events being part of a wider strategy to keep users hooked and engaged.