Facebook Testing New 'Beep' That Would Report New Notifications Via Sound

The noise -- a video of which you can find below -- resembles that of an instant message or, better yet, the sound a received message on Facebook makes if the page is open in another tab on a browser. Venturebeat pointed out the feature could be helpful for users waiting for a reply or important message but, certainly for some of the hundreds of millions of customers, it would be a pest.

“Facebook often tests new features and designs for a small amount of users before deciding whether or not to take it live for all of its 1 billion active users,” the site wrote. “Notification sounds were turned on a few days ago for my Facebook account, and ever since, leaving my Facebook page open in a tab has been a gamble. Will I hear a lot of pings for that new picture I posted, or will I hear nothing?

“Facebook manager of corporate communications Meredith Chin told us notification sounds are “currently just a test,” but she shined no light on when and if these sounds would be made permanent. Thankfully, it’s easy to turn off.”

Web Pro News reported that Facebook has tested a slew of new features, and just in recent months. The sometimes-polarizing company briefly employed notifications for declined invites, thumbnails for photo-related notifications and varying reminder notifications similar to a snooze button on an alarm clock.