Facebook has revealed a massive increase to its search functionality – with all 2 trillion of its publicly listed posts are now searchable.

Needle in a haystack

Facebook announced the news in a blog post.

"Today, we’re updating Facebook Search so that in addition to friends and family, you can find out what the world is saying about topics that matter to you."

Compass

However Facebook isn’t just flicking a switch with its data dump. The search function will sort results and arrange them according to topics and sources.

For example, if you’re searching for an event like the Melbourne Cup, news outlets such as The Age will be shown first, followed by related posts from friends.

Below that will be aggregated links from third-party websites.

Google get punch

And here’s the kicker that might be making Google nervous.

Each search result will be personalised to the user, based on 200 points of information covering everything from Pages you like to personal information and search habits.

Data which could be very lucrative to sell targeted ads against.

While Facebook’s previous forays into search haven’t faired so well (remember Facebook Signal?) it’s serious about search.

And with 1.5 billion Facebook search queries being processed every day, expect the heat to ramp up on Google.