Although it boasts well over 2 billion monthly users, Facebook is constantly adding and removing features as it attempts to stay fresh and compete with the likes of Snapchat. Even the social network's oldest elements aren't safe: after first arriving way back in 2011, the Ticker---the box that appeared to the right of the news feed summarizing your friends' Facebook activities---has now been removed.
As noted by TechCrunch, the move comes after several weeks of users complaining that their Tickers were disappearing. In a post on Facebook's Help Community, a verified member of the FB team confirmed that the feature is "no longer available." The question has now been closed and no further comments are being allowed.
Precisely why Facebook decided to remove the Ticker is unclear. Not everyone was comfortable with the idea that their friends could potentially see everything they did on the site, including what images they liked and reacted to, comments they left, and more. This creeper aspect, and perhaps due to its decreasing popularity, could have contributed to its demise.
It could also be a case of 'out with the old and in with the new' for Facebook. One of the site's new features, which is rolling out to users in Britain, Thailand, Australia, Canada, Columbia, and France, appears to be an attempt at refreshing the old 'Poke' function, which few people seem to use these days. By hovering over the 'Hello' button, or long pressing it in the app, people can send greetings such as a hug, wink, and high five. The mobile version even comes with its own animation for each option.
