In October 2021, Facebook announced that it would change its corporate name to Meta. This led to some confusion among users about whether Facebook was still Facebook or was now called Meta.
Quick Answers
The Facebook app and service has not changed its name. It is still called Facebook. Meta is the new name for the parent company that owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other products.
So in summary:
- Facebook is still called Facebook
- The company formerly known as Facebook, Inc. has changed its name to Meta Platforms, Inc.
- Meta is the new overall company name that owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.
The Facebook Company Name Change
On October 28, 2021, the technology company formerly known as Facebook, Inc. announced it was changing its corporate name to Meta Platforms, Inc. The Facebook app and service did not change names, it is still just called Facebook.
This name change was announced by Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the company’s annual Connect conference. He stated the name “Facebook” no longer encompassed everything the company did. The new name Meta aims to reflect the company’s focus on building technology for the “metaverse.”
The metaverse refers to Zuckerberg’s vision of a future online virtual environment where people will interact using technologies like virtual and augmented reality.
While the parent company changed names, the Facebook app and service we all use did not. It continues to just be known as Facebook, along with other company-owned services:
- Facebook app
- Messenger
- Oculus
These remain standalone brand names and did not change to Meta. So you can still access Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. just like before. The only difference is the parent company that owns them is now called Meta instead of Facebook.
Why Did Facebook Change to Meta?
There are several reasons why Facebook likely decided to change the name of the parent company to Meta:
- Distinguish the parent company from the Facebook app – With so many other apps and technologies besides Facebook, Meta helps distinguish the larger company from just the one social media platform.
- Focus on the metaverse – Calling the company Meta signals a future focus on virtual and augmented reality platforms that Zuckerberg calls the metaverse.
- Get away from negative associations – Facebook as a brand has suffered reputational damage in recent years due to things like data privacy concerns, misinformation, and antitrust scrutiny. A new parent name allows some dissociation from these issues.
While the company may want to distance itself somewhat from the Facebook brand name, the Facebook app and service itself remains hugely important to Meta. With nearly 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook the app still represents Meta’s biggest product and revenue source by far.
The Meta Brand
The new Meta name will be used for the parent company that owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other products like Oculus and Portal.
Eventually, Meta plans to phase out referencing Facebook Inc. or Facebook Company completely. But Facebook the app will remain under the Meta parent umbrella.
Meta also has a new corporate logo that looks somewhat similar to the old Facebook logo, but uses a blue infinity shape rather than Facebook’s well-known lowercase “f” icon.
Over time, Meta will likely come to represent not just the parent company, but Zuckerberg’s vision of an immersive virtual environment known as the metaverse. So in a few years, people may associate the Meta name more with the metaverse concept rather than the company formerly known as Facebook.
Facebook App Stays the Same
Importantly, while the parent company changed names, the Facebook app and services themselves remain unchanged:
- The Facebook app icon stays the same
- The functionality and user experience is unchanged
- Users don’t have to do anything differently
- You still sign up and login to Facebook.com the same way
So even though Facebook the company has rebranded to Meta, Facebook the social media platform remains the same for users.
Meta Stock Ticker Symbol
Along with renaming the parent company to Meta, the company stock ticker symbol also changed to reflect the new name.
Previously trading under FB on the NASDAQ exchange, Meta’s stock ticker is now META.
This stock symbol change went into effect on June 9, 2022 when FB officially changed to META.
Summary of Key Facebook Company Name Changes
| Item | Old Name | New Name |
|---|---|---|
| Parent company name | Facebook, Inc. | Meta Platforms, Inc. |
| Stock ticker | FB | META |
| Facebook app | No change, still Facebook | |
| No change, still Instagram | ||
| No change, still WhatsApp |
Metaverse Virtual Reality Vision
A major reason for Facebook rebranding itself as Meta is to highlight the company’s focus on developing virtual and augmented reality technology platforms.
Zuckerberg describes his vision of the metaverse as a persistent, immersive virtual environment where people will interact using technologies like VR and AR.
By changing to the Meta name, they aim to become strongly associated with the concept of the metaverse, even though that future digital realm is still evolving.
Horizon and Oculus For Metaverse
Meta is developing its own AR and VR products and platforms to help enable the metaverse future it envisions.
Two of the key technologies Meta is working on for bringing the metaverse to life include:
- Horizon – A social virtual reality environment where users interact as digital avatars using Meta VR headsets.
- Oculus – Meta’s brand of virtual reality headsets that power immersive experiences like those in Horizon.
Between futuristic technologies like Horizon and Oculus, Meta aims to make the metaverse a reality in the coming years.
Is Meta Just a Rebranding of Facebook?
The name change from Facebook to Meta is essentially a rebranding and restructuring of the parent company that owns Facebook.
Rather than Facebook Inc. owning Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other products, now Meta Platforms Inc. owns these brands.
However, this is more complex than a straightforward rebranding for a few reasons:
- The Facebook app and service retains its name and branding.
- Meta is about signaling a future vision focused on the metaverse, versus solely focuing on the past social media business.
- Multiple brands like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp remain intact rather than transitioning to a unified Meta brand.
Think of it as Facebook (the app) remaining Facebook, while Facebook (the company) transitions to Meta. This allows the parent organization to reinvent itself somewhat while Facebook the social network continues forward.
Conclusion
To conclude, while Facebook the company is rebranding itself as Meta Platforms, the Facebook app and social media service remains unchanged:
- Facebook has rebranded as Meta Platforms Inc., changed stock ticker to META, and adopted a new logo.
- The Facebook app and services like Messenger remain the same for users.
- Meta aims to solidify its image as focused on the future metaverse concept.
- Names like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus remain the same under the new Meta parent entity.
So Facebook is still Facebook, it has just rebranded its parent company as Meta. This allows the company to reinvent itself somewhat while Facebook remains the biggest social platform in the world.