Facebook appears to have killed the Ticker, which previously showed you what your friends were doing on the social network in real time. Facebook is well known for changing things up on a regular basis, but the killing of the Ticker is odd in that there's been no official announcement.

The Algorithmic Timeline Ticks Off Users

Until 2011 your Facebook timeline showed you what your friends were doing in chronological order. The same way Twitter still works. Then Facebook controversially changed the timeline so that it surfaced the most relevant content instead, which has been both a blessing and a curse.

The Ticker was introduced alongside the algorithmic feed, giving those people who cared about seeing everything their friends posted an opportunity to keep tabs on everyone all of the time. However, this also led some people to dub the Ticker the "creeper feed" for obvious reasons.

This Feature Is No Longer Available

Now, it appears Facebook has killed off the Ticker without telling anyone. Some users started noticing it disappearing at the beginning of November, and complaining about it in the Facebook Help Community [Broken URL Removed]. A verified user eventually conceded, "This feature is no longer available."

The complaints are from people with lots of friends who used the Ticker to keep tabs on their activities. And with the Ticker gone they claim Facebook is showing posts they're not very interested in. Which suggests they need to indulge in a Facebook cull to get rid of the deadwood.

Stop Creeping on Your Facebook Friends

While we can understand people's annoyance at losing a feature they actively used, we're guessing they're in the minority. And Facebook will have its reasons for killing the Ticker, even if the social network isn't making those reasons public. And at least the creeps lose a weapon.

Did you ever use the Ticker on Facebook? Have you even noticed it has disappeared? If so, are you one of the people annoyed at its removal? Or does it not bother you in the slightest? Why do you think Facebook killed the Ticker? Please let us know in the comments below!

Image Credit: Geoff Livingston via Flickr