A redesigned “Poke” under testing at Facebook

Facebook is testing a new feature among certain users in the UK, Canada and France that lets them alert their friends about posts and potentially bombard others with notifications.

The feature is currently being tested on Facebook’s website and iOS app, and is similar to the much-derided Facebook "poke". Those who are testing the feature see a loudspeaker icon and a message saying “Notify a few friends about this post” after posting a status update and with a click they are able to share the post with up to 10 friends.

This would be a new way to privately alert users about a post without needing to either share the link or tagging them in the post itself.

The new feature would simply result in a Facebook notification for the person alerted, without any public tagging or sharing.

However, it could also be seen as another way to spam users with notifications, potentially reincarnating the gone-but-not-forgotten Facebook poke. The company has not said when or if the feature will be fully introduced.

"When you make a post that is particularly interesting to certain friends, you want to make sure they see it. Instead of tagging friends in the post or the comments section, we’re testing a more discreet option to alert them of your post by sending them a notification," a Facebook spokesman said.