20-year-old annoying Facebook feature to make a comeback because…

Facebook has announced that the “Poke” button will return as a core feature, giving users a dedicated page to view pokes and receive notifications.

Facebook is bringing back the “Poke” button in a major update designed to appeal to younger users. The feature, first introduced more than 20 years ago, is being repositioned as a central part of the social media platform. The “Poke” feature soon became annoying and no one really used it. However, things may be changing noq

Facebook is bringing back the Poke button with new updates aimed at appealing to younger audiences. (AP)

By MD Ijaj Khan

Ijaj Khan is a technology journalist and Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times, with over three years of experience covering the consumer technology industry. His work spans smartphones, laptops, wearables, gaming, appliances and AI - from hands-on reviews, comparison and buying guides to breaking news and in-depth features that help readers cut through the noise and make informed decisions. Before joining HT Tech, he worked with Jagran New Media, where he sharpened his instincts for fast-paced digital reporting. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in English Journalism and Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi. Whether he's testing the latest flagship smartphone, tracking a major AI announcement, or putting a gaming laptop through its paces, Ijaj approaches every story with the same goal - making technology feel relevant and easy to understand for everyday users, not just enthusiasts. When he's not in front of a screen for work, he's usually travelling to a new city, hunting for great food, or keeping tabs on what's next in tech before everyone else catches on.

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In a company post announcing the change, 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.” Users will now have access to a dedicated page showing their “Pokes-count” with friends, along with notifications whenever they receive one.

The update follows a surge in poke usage last year, when Facebook reported a 13-fold increase. Despite remaining the world’s most widely used social media network, with over one-third of the global population logging in at least once a month, Facebook’s growth among new users has slowed in recent years.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously spoken about bringing back earlier features as part of a broader strategy to reconnect the platform with its original audience while also making it more appealing to younger generations. He described the revival of older functions as a way to rebuild the “fun and useful parts of the original experience.”

“This is phase one of bringing back OG Facebook,” Zuckerberg said during a March appearance on the Colin and Samir podcast. “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.”

He added that features such as the Poke button and the reintroduced “Friends” tab are part of a deliberate effort to strengthen direct connections between users, in contrast with the algorithm-driven feed that now dominates the platform. “I actually think that there’s this whole opportunity that is going to be pretty fun to go after and build, which is just to go one-by-one and build up 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,” he said.