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If you have been living under a rock, you might have blinked and missed LinkedIn trying new feeds.
Yes, that’s right: LinkedIn has quietly ended its experiment with customizable news feed tabs. The trial allowed a select group of users to toggle between three distinct feed types: For You, Following, and News.
Prior to the test, For You was the main algorithm-driven feed. Following tab displayed updates only from people and pages you follow, and News delivered business news curated by LinkedIn’s editorial team.
Participants in the test saw pill-style buttons at the top of their feeds to switch between these streams. LinkedIn confirmed the feature was always meant to be a limited pilot and it has now been discontinued for some users. The company stated the test will not impact any existing feed preferences in user settings.
Analysts argue that algorithmic feeds like For You drive higher engagement, making them strategically more valuable for the platform. It appears the alternative tabs didn’t offer enough engagement to warrant broader rollout, leading LinkedIn to revert fully to its familiar algorithm-driven feed experience.
Especially when it comes to the News tab. While it elevated LinkedIn’s in-house journalism, user behavior suggests that most people come to LinkedIn for networking rather than news aggregation. The fate of the News tab remains uncertain: it could reappear later or inspire other ways to highlight editorial content, possibly through short videos or top-of-feed placements.
