Facebook quietly removes posts search filter across all platforms

Update 17/09/25 – 11:05 am (IST): If this sudden disappearance of the search by posts filter has negatively affected your Facebook experience, you should leave a feedback for the company (use Ctrl+B on the Search screen). If a large number of users do this, there’s a chance Meta may consider bringing back the search filter. Some users have already done so.

Update 15/09/25 – 11:34 am (IST): While reports about the problem initially spiked around the same time as Charlie Kirk was shot, it seems plenty of users are now coming out to confirm that the “Post” search functionality was missing even a week earlier. 

That said, while the previous workarounds were for users on browsers, someone has now shared a potential workaround for those on mobile devices. But it’s only to search for your own stuff. Either way, here’s what to do:

If you’re searching for something on your own profile click on your own profile, under your name there’s a few things listed, add to story, edit profile, then 3 dots. Click the dots and find search. This searches only through your own “wall” and you can search by posts too.

Update 13/09/25 – 11:45 am (IST): We have spotted another workaround for those using browsers. Here it goes:

There is an easier way. Make the search and click on the tab “Videos” (it is still there). There, you can still sort them by “Most recent”. Do this, and then find the word “videos” in the URL and replace it by “posts”. It should work.

It was shared by a Reddit user, and I can confirm it works as well.

Update 12/09/25 – 10:15 am (IST): There’s a temporary solution for users on browsers. I spotted a comment from user flama12333 on Reddit, who highlighted a nifty trick for people using Facebook on browsers. What you need to do is use the following URL and replace the “test” text with your search term.

https://www.facebook.com/search/posts?q=test

If your search term requires a space, use %20 to add a space instead of just adding a blank space. Here’s how it should look:

https://www.facebook.com/search/posts?q=test%20test

I gave it a test and it works as expected. Let me know if it works for you in the comments below. That said, there’s still no official word about why the option was removed in the first place.

Original article published on September 11, 2025, follows:

Facebook users worldwide woke up to find a key feature missing from their search experience. The social media giant has quietly removed the “Posts” filter option from its search function, leaving many frustrated and wondering what went wrong.

The removal appears to have happened without warning or official announcement from Meta. Users who previously relied on the Posts search filter to find specific content, track conversations, or research topics are now stuck with a much more limited set of options: All, Videos, People, Groups, Events, and Pages.

I tested this change across multiple platforms and can confirm the Posts option has vanished everywhere. Whether you’re using the Facebook website on a browser, the Android app, or the iOS app, the Posts filter is nowhere to be found. What used to be a straightforward way to search through public posts and content has simply disappeared.

Check out these before and after screenshots of the search filters:

This decision feels particularly odd, considering how useful this feature was for users trying to find recent discussions about current events, local news, or specific topics. It also seems to have happened shortly after Charlie Kirk was shot, at least that’s what I observed when piecing together the timeline of reports. So it’s possible that Facebook might have done it to prevent users from searching for particular posts related to the incident. But that’s just speculation, and I could be wrong. Don’t take my word for it.

That said, it’s not the first time Facebook has pulled off something like this. The platform previously removed the Photos search filter, suggesting this might be part of a bigger strategy to limit how users can search through historical content. Some users suspect this is intentional rather than a glitch, pointing to Meta’s pattern of making changes without explanation.

The “All” results that remain have never satisfied most users’ needs. They tend to surface irrelevant content and lack the focused filtering that made the Posts option so valuable. For people who used Facebook as a way to track public discourse or find specific information, this change represents a significant downgrade in functionality.

Some users have discovered partial workarounds through the mobile site, where you can filter to “group posts” and switch from group to public posts. There’s also a “recent posts” filter available there, but early reports suggest it’s not pulling up as much content as the original Posts search did.

For now, Facebook users will have to adapt to a more limited search experience or hope this turns out to be a temporary glitch rather than a permanent feature removal. I’ll keep an eye out for any further developments and will update the article if and when there’s something to share.