Facebook introduces improvements to its search engine

Looking for a status update on Facebook is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Change is however coming as the company has introduced new search capabilities to the platform. Search FYI, the new improved search engine, will allow users to find information about any topic that is being discussed and shared on Facebook.

“With over 1.5 billion searches per day and over 2 trillion posts in our index, search is an important, long-term effort at Facebook,” the company said in a statement.

The plan according to Facebook is for its users to find the information that people are talking about or sharing. Instead of scrawling through a timeline to find story links on other’s timelines, users will now be able to search for the story as one would on Google.

Read more: Here’s how searches around SA’s student protests have spiked

The new Search FYI includes a better search suggestion with Facebook offering a timely personalised search suggestions that offer users options on which stories to follow.

The search results will include public posts and posts from their friends. When users search, they will now see the most recent and relevant information from their friends. Users have the option of refreshing their search to see the latest public posts.

The other feature that is coming with Search FYI is that users can search links that have been shared on Facebook. Not only just search but users can see popular quotes and phrases mentioned in the shared posts, and users can check out an aggregate overview of sentiment.

The Search FYI update is only rolling out in the US on iPhone, Android and desktop.

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