Facebook Timeline: 10 Ways to Reverse the Changes

Even if you don't like how photos are displayed in theater mode, luckily, there are ways to undo what Mark Zuckerberg has done and restore Facebook to its former glory.

Writer Amy-Mae Elliott discovered five tools, namely browser extensions, that can help you replace Facebook Timeline with the social network's older features. Here they are:

1. Kick the Ticker, Revert the News Feed

Facebook Classic (for Chrome), by Michael Donohoe: For haters of the new Facebook Ticker, which constantly rolls in friend updates above the new chat bar, there is Facebook Classic. The Google Chrome extension additionally reverts the News Feed to its previous chronological update system, so users no longer need to worry about sorting their News Feed into highlighted stories or most recent stories. In case you don't like Facebook Classic, Donohoe made it easy to turn this extension on and off.

Facebook Ticker Removal (for Firefox), by Ashley: Even if you keep the chat window open on the right side of your Facebook screen, this Firefox add-on will remove the constantly-updating ticker above it.

2. Remove App Clutter

F.B. Purity (for Firefox), by steeev+: Annoyed by app updates from friends? This Firefox add-on allows the user to pick which applications they want to filter out, such as Questions or Spotify, and lets the user also adjust the font size.

Kill Facebook Questions (for Chrome), by Aaron Godin: Although this Chrome extension doesn't have the same comprehensive News Feed filtering solution as steev+'s F.B. Purity, removing some clutter is better than having to live with it. Getting the Questions boxes out of one's News Feed is a big improvement.

3. Call Off the Chat Changes

Get Back Old Facebook Chat (for Chrome), by Mugilan C. Prime: In addition to reverting Facebook chat to the way it used to be, where all available friends could be viewed in customizable groups, this extension also disables the News Ticker. Chat still features video calling support and ordered friend lists.

Tidy Facebook Chat (for Firefox), by Nicolas Maravitti: Unlike Prime's Facebook Chat solution, Maravitti's option for Firefox doesn't get back the old version of Facebook Chat, but it does hide your offline friends so you can see only those available.

4. Change Photos Back

Revert FB Photo Viewer (for Chrome), by Steve Gilbertson: In the new Facebook Timeline, images and photos appear as pop-ups over a black screen to give the picture the spotlight and a more theater-y feel. If you want the old previous-next navigation back, download this Google Chrome attachment, which only requires the user to refresh Facebook after loading the extension.

Facebook Photo Theater Killer (for Firefox), by David Harvey: This script works for any Firefox user that already has the Greasemonkey add-on installed, which is the tool required for customizing your browser with small bits of JavaScript. Similar to Gilbertson's Chrome extension, the Photo Theater Killer loads the old photo viewer, as long as Facebook keeps it running.

5. Bring Back the Comment Button

Facebook Comment Fixer (for Chrome), by Matt Kruse: One of the more annoying changes in Facebook Timeline is the system for commenting on photos. Now, pressing Enter doesn't take you to the next line, but it instead automatically publishes the unfinished comment, leaving many to agonize over leaving too many comments or comments they didn't mean to leave. Kruse's Comment Fixer restores the Comment button, and Enter just allows you to skip a line.

F.B. Purity (for Firefox), by steeev+: Another great feature in F.B. Purity, which already lets users filter the applications they want to see on their News Feeds and Tickers, is the return of the Comment button, which will reduce the number of accidental comments published.

About Facebook Timeline

Unveiled at the f8 Developer's Conference in San Francisco in September, Facebook Timeline divides the traditional Facebook profile into two columns, where photos, Wall comments, videos, and other updates tell one's unique life story, all the way down to one's birth.

Timeline is the story of your life and it has three pieces: All your stories, all your apps, and a new way to express who you are, Zuckerberg said. The biggest challenge that we had designing timeline was to figure out how to tell all the most important stories from your life on a single page, Zuckerberg said. You don't want to show every little thing that you've ever done because not everything is defining or critical to who you are.

To keep Timeline relevant, Facebook has constructed a unique algorithm that only saves the true life-changing and most interesting moments to the timeline.

The further back you go, the more it'll summarize for you, Zuckerberg said.

While Facebook loads everything to Timeline automatically, Timeline is still completely customizable. Users can create and delete posts, can share them with only specific people.

You have complete control of your Timeline, what you display there, and who can see it, Zuckerberg said.

Facebook is the most dominant social network in the world, accounting for 67 percent, two-thirds, of the social media market share with more than 800 million global users.

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