This forces the home page to load the feed immediately, rather than the "Top Stories" algorithm view.

Seeing a URL like https://facebook.com in your browser address bar is common, but it can look a bit suspicious if you aren't familiar with how web servers work.

After a successful login, the system might redirect you from the login page to the home page using this parameter to signal that the authentication was successful. Why "home.php"?

If you type http://facebook.com (unsecured), Facebook automatically redirects you to the secure https:// version, often appending _rdr to the end.

On the modern "New Facebook" layout, finding the chronological feed is annoying (it is hidden inside a "See More" menu).

If you are on a very slow internet connection or have a limited data plan, this URL is often the gateway to Facebook's "Basic" version (often denoted by mbasic.facebook.com or a stripped-down version of the home page).

While it looks like a glitch, it is actually a standard part of Facebook’s internal navigation system. Here is a deep dive into what this URL means and why it appears. What is the _rdr Parameter?

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?_rdr

A corrected and standard version would be:

Facebook tracks users who are redirected from the "non-www" version of the site ( facebook.com ) to the "www" version ( www.facebook.com ).

Today, Facebook uses more sophisticated URL routing that usually hides these extensions. However, these older .php URLs still exist as aliases . They ensure that old bookmarks or external links don't break, even though the underlying technology has evolved. When It Becomes an Issue (Redirect Loops)