Facebook's News Feed is gentler on your flaky phone connection
Facebook is testing an update that saves you from having to wait for more stories, and lets you comment even when you're offline.
Facebook might depend on the internet, but the social network knows that people don't always have good internet connections. You may be knocked offline in a subway tunnel, or live in a part of the world where fast internet access is rare. The company should soon have your back, though. It's testing a mobile News Feed update that sees which stories are already on your phone, and shows the ones you haven't seen based on relevance. On top of that, the test will periodically grab new stories while you have a good connection -- ideally, you'll always have something fresh to read.
You'll even have some limited interaction while you're offline. Facebook will let you comment on posts when you don't have an internet connection, and will sync up once you're back online. If you want to wish someone a happy birthday while you're stuck on a flight without WiFi, you can. It's not clear when this or the core News Feed update will be ready for prime time, but don't be surprised if you start seeing posts even in those moments where you're not even close to having a good signal.
