The social website has a new feature in store for its users

May 11, 2015 13:23 GMT  ·  By

It seems that Facebook is taking an aim at Google by experimenting with its own search engine which will prevent users from leaving the platform.

It all began as a rumor when several iOS users started noticing some changes, but the company has already confirmed that the in-app feature will be made available soon enough.

"We're piloting a new way to add a link that's been shared on Facebook to your posts and comments," a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch on Sunday.

And just as purported, users will start seeing an option that says Add a link, which when clicked on will allow them to scroll through the impressively large number of posts that Facebook has grouped together. Users can this way get a preview of the website that they have chosen and then share it on the platform.

This could be a massive blow for Google as it would mean that Facebook users will no longer have to use the search engine when wanting to share a news article.

Making things easier for mobile users

Posting links on Facebook using the mobile app is pretty difficult so the new feature is more than welcomed as it will enable users to post links much easier, without having to go through the trouble of moving back and forth from one website to another.

Furthermore, it seems that the results of the search query will be based on their popularity among users and on the number of times that people have shared them, which means that we will be able to get relevant content faster.

This feature follows Facebook’s decision to host news content on the site through a partnership that the company is trying to conclude with several media publications and which will allow users to read articles without having to leave the website and go to an external one.

Although the feature is already available for a few users in the U.S., Facebook has released no additional information on when it plans to roll it to other countries as well.

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Facebook is intent on making users not have to leave the platform
This is how the Add a link feature works
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