- Why your Facebook feed shows old posts: the Home feed isn't a timeline
- How to see the newest Facebook posts first in the Feeds tab
- Why your Facebook feed goes back to old posts after you leave
- What the Facebook feed shows besides your friends' posts
- If your Facebook feed is blank or stuck on old posts
- When Facebook feed problems point to something else
- Facebook feed order for Page admins and business owners
- Quick comparison of the Facebook Home feed and the Feeds tab
- Frequently asked questions
Your Facebook feed shows old posts because Home isn't a timeline: Facebook's help centre describes it as a mix of posts from friends, groups and Pages you follow. To see newer posts first, open the Feeds tab, which Facebook says can temporarily show posts in the order they were posted.
If you open Facebook and the first thing you see is a post from days ago, you're not imagining it, and nothing's necessarily broken. It's a particular nuisance if you rely on Facebook to see what customers, suppliers and local groups are posting. The short version is that the main Home feed isn't a timeline. Below I've pulled together what Facebook's help pages say about how the feed works, how to see the newest posts first, and what to try when the feed looks stuck.
Why your Facebook feed shows old posts: the Home feed isn't a timeline
Facebook's help centre describes Home as a place that features your Feed, which updates with posts from friends, groups you're in and Pages you follow. It doesn't promise those posts will be in the order they went up. In its article on controlling what you see in Feed, Facebook talks about the difference between top posts and most recent posts, which tells you the two views are separate things.
So when an older post sits near the top, the likeliest reason is simply that you're looking at the mixed Home view rather than a list sorted by time. The fix is not a hidden setting you've turned off. It's to use the view Facebook built for newest-first browsing.
How to see the newest Facebook posts first in the Feeds tab
According to Facebook's help article on seeing the most recent posts in your Feeds tab, you can temporarily make Feed show posts in the order they were posted on Facebook. The word to notice there is temporarily. Menus vary by app version, so the labels below may look slightly different on your phone or computer.
On the Facebook app
- Open the Facebook app and find the Feeds tab. Depending on your phone and app version, it may sit along the bottom or the top of the screen.
- Tap Feeds to open it.
- Look for the option that shows the most recent posts, then pick it so posts appear in the order they were shared.
On a computer
- Go to Facebook in your browser and look at the left-hand menu.
- Click See more if you can't see Feeds straight away, then click Feeds.
- Choose the most recent view, if Facebook offers it on your version.
If the Feeds option isn't there, your account may not have the latest layout yet. Updating the app is the first thing I'd try, and I cover that below.
Why your Facebook feed goes back to old posts after you leave
Because Facebook describes the newest-first view as something you switch on temporarily, it's normal for the feed to drop back to the standard Home view the next time you open the app. That's the most common reason people say the fix 'didn't stick'. Reopen the Feeds tab each time you want the newest-first list. It takes a couple of seconds once you know where it lives.
What the Facebook feed shows besides your friends' posts
Facebook has a help article on why you might see posts in Feed about people you're not friends with or groups you're not in. So an older-looking Home feed can also be a mix of things you didn't choose to follow. If that's the part that irritates you, the control-what-you-see article is where Facebook explains your options for tuning it. I'd treat the content preferences area of your settings as the place to start, since Facebook points people there to see and adjust what shows up.
Ads are another reason the feed can feel cluttered or out of date. If video ads keep playing while you scroll, my explainer on why ads keep playing in the background of your Facebook feed goes through what's happening.
If your Facebook feed is blank or stuck on old posts
Facebook's article asking why your Feed is blank suggests closing and reopening Facebook, and mentions how to see the most recent posts at the top of your Feed. Beyond what Facebook says, these are ordinary fixes that help most apps. They aren't official steps, so treat them as sensible things to try:
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- Close Facebook completely and open it again.
- Check your internet connection, because a weak connection can leave a feed showing what it loaded last time.
- Update the Facebook app from your phone's app store, then restart it.
- Log out and back in, or try Facebook in a browser, to see if the problem follows the app.
- Restart your phone or computer.
When Facebook feed problems point to something else
Occasionally what looks like a stale feed is something more worrying, such as posts or messages you didn't write. That's a different problem entirely, and Facebook lists it among the signs an account may have been taken over. I've written up the signs Facebook lists that an account may have been hacked so you can tell the two situations apart.
Facebook feed order for Page admins and business owners
If you run a business Page, the feed you see isn't the feed your customers see. Nobody has a single, shared Home feed, so a post of yours showing up late for one follower doesn't mean it went out late. For checking your own posts, go to your Page directly instead of relying on Home. And when you want to catch what customers and local groups are saying as it happens, the Feeds tab with the newest-first view is far more useful than the main Home feed.
Quick comparison of the Facebook Home feed and the Feeds tab
| Home feed | Feeds tab, most recent view | |
|---|---|---|
| What it features, per Facebook | Posts from friends, groups you're in and Pages you follow | Posts in the order they were posted on Facebook |
| Order | Not guaranteed to be newest first | Newest first, according to Facebook's help article |
| Does it stay switched on? | It's the default view | Facebook describes it as temporary |
| Best for | Browsing in general | Catching up on what's just been posted |
I'd also say this plainly: if you only ever scroll Home, you'll keep wondering why older posts appear. Make the Feeds tab your first stop and the problem mostly goes away.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my Facebook feed show old posts first?
Facebook's help centre describes Home as a feed of posts from friends, groups and Pages, and treats top posts and most recent posts as different things. Home isn't promised to be in time order, so older posts can appear near the top.
How do I make Facebook show the newest posts first?
Facebook's help article says you can temporarily make Feed show posts in the order they were posted by using the Feeds tab. Menus vary by app version, so look for Feeds on your phone or under See more on a computer.
Why does the newest-first view keep switching back?
Facebook describes the most recent view as temporary, so the app can return to the standard Home view when you reopen it. Open the Feeds tab again each time.
My Facebook feed is blank. What does Facebook suggest?
Facebook's article on a blank Feed suggests closing and reopening Facebook. If that doesn't work, check your connection and update the app.
Does an old-looking feed mean my account was hacked?
Not on its own. Facebook's list of warning signs includes things like posts or messages you didn't write and unfamiliar logins, not an out-of-date feed.
