Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with over 2.9 billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2022. Originally launched in 2004 as a social networking site for college students, Facebook has grown into a global technology company that offers a wide range of products and services.
The Facebook app is the core product offered by the company. It allows users to connect with friends and family, share photos and videos, discover content, join groups, play games, use messaging, and more. Key features of Facebook include:
- News Feed – A constantly updating list of updates, photos, videos, and more from friends, groups, and pages you follow.
- Profile – A customizable page to share information about yourself and connect with others.
- Friends – You can connect with other users by sending friend requests.
- Groups – Allows users with shared interests to connect by creating and joining interest-based groups.
- Events – Allows users to publicize events, invite friends, and track who plans to attend.
- Pages – Public profiles that businesses, brands, celebrities, causes, and other entities can create to share information and connect with followers.
- Messenger – An instant messaging service that allows Facebook users to communicate in real time.
- Marketplace – Allows users to buy and sell items locally.
- Stories – Users can share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.
- Reels – Facebook’s short-form video feature, similar to TikTok.
The Facebook app is available as a mobile app for Android and iOS devices as well as accessible on desktop at www.facebook.com. It serves as the central hub to access Facebook’s family of services.
Instagram is a popular photo and video sharing app and social network acquired by Facebook in 2012. Key features of Instagram include:
- Photo Feed – An endless feed of photos and videos shared by accounts you follow.
- Stories – Share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.
- Reels – Instagram’s short-form video feature for creating and sharing 15 to 60 second videos.
- IGTV – A standalone app for longer-form videos up to 60 minutes long.
- Live Video – Broadcast and watch live videos in real time.
- AR Filters & Effects – Fun filters and augmented reality effects to alter photos and videos.
- DMs – Direct messaging for having private conversations.
- Hashtags – Allows users to discover content and follow topics by hashtag.
- Shopping – Makes select products tagged in posts shoppable and links to online stores.
Instagram is used by over 1 billion people every month. It is available as a mobile app for Android and iOS and can also be accessed on the web at www.instagram.com.
Messenger
Facebook Messenger is an instant messaging app and platform. Users can chat with friends and connections on Facebook as well as contacts using their phone number. Key Messenger features include:
- Chats – Instantly message other Messenger users.
- Voice and Video Calls – Make free voice and video calls over WiFi or data.
- Groups – Chat with multiple friends at once in group conversations.
- Stories – Share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.
- Games – Play instant games with friends right in chats.
- Payments – Send and receive money securely.
- Bots and Businesses – Interact with business accounts and chatbots.
- Apps and Stickers – Extend chats with third-party apps and personalized stickers.
Messenger has over 1.3 billion monthly active users worldwide. It is available as a standalone mobile app on Android and iOS as well as accessible within the Facebook app and facebook.com.
WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging app with over 2 billion active users. Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014. The app allows users to send messages, make voice and video calls, share media and documents, and more with end-to-end encryption. Key WhatsApp features include:
- Chats – Send individual and group messages privately.
- Voice and Video Calls – Make calls to individuals and groups.
- Stories – Share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.
- WhatsApp Status – Share text, photos, videos and GIFs that expire after 24 hours.
- Payments – Send and receive money right in chats (available in select markets).
- Bots – Interact with businesses and organizations through chats.
- Encrypted Backups – Your message history is securely backed up and protected.
- Desktop App – Use WhatsApp on your computer.
WhatsApp is used globally and available for Android, iOS, desktop, and web.
Facebook Video
Facebook offers a range of video products and services.
Facebook Watch
Facebook Watch is the company’s platform for shows, live streams, and on-demand video content. It features original programming as well as content from media partners and creators. Users can follow their favorite shows and creators, share videos, and interact with other fans.
Facebook Live
Facebook Live allows users to broadcast live video streams on Facebook through their profiles, pages, and groups. Viewers can comment, react, and interact in real time. Facebook Live can be accessed through Facebook’s mobile apps as well as the desktop site.
IGTV
IGTV is Instagram’s app for long-form vertical videos up to 60 minutes long. Videos are organized into channels that users can follow. IGTV videos can also be viewed within the main Instagram app in the Explore tab or profile pages.
Reels
Reels on Facebook and Instagram offer short-form creative video tools and a TikTok-like vertical video experience. Users can record, edit, and share 15 to 60 second multi-clip videos with music, effects, and other creative tools.
Facebook Dating
Facebook Dating is the company’s online dating service built into the Facebook app. Users can create a Dating profile separate from their main profile and then match and communicate with other users who also have a Dating profile. It provides features to message matches, share Stories, and attend virtual events together.
Facebook Pay
Facebook Pay is the company’s payment system for sending and receiving money across its apps. It provides a convenient and secure way for people to make purchases, donations, and peer-to-peer payments across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Facebook Shops
Facebook Shops allows businesses to easily create an online store and sell products directly within Facebook and Instagram. Sellers can showcase their products via a Shop tab on their Facebook page or profile and let customers browse, save items, and make purchases without leaving the app.
Facebook Ad Products
Facebook offers a vast range of advertising products and services for businesses and marketers. Major ad products include:
- Facebook Ads – Display, video, and carousel ads within Facebook’s apps.
- Instagram Ads – Photo, video, carousel, and story ads within Instagram.
- Messenger Ads – Sponsored messages in the Messenger home page inbox.
- Audience Network – Ad placements on third-party apps and sites.
- Brand Collabs Manager – Connects brands with influencers for sponsored content.
Facebook ad options allow advertisers to reach customers based on detailed targeting such as interests, behaviors, and demographics. Performance and budget options allow businesses to optimize campaigns based on their marketing objectives.
Oculus
Facebook owns Oculus, a virtual reality brand focused on immersive VR gaming and entertainment. Oculus headsets transport users into virtual experiences by placing them in a VR environment through technologies like sensors and high resolution displays. Popular Oculus products include:
- Oculus Quest 2 – A wireless standalone VR headset.
- Oculus Rift – A PC-powered VR headset with touch controllers.
- Oculus Go – An entry-level wireless headset.
- Oculus for Business – Provides enterprise VR solutions.
Oculus has played a key role in making virtual reality technology more mainstream and accessible to consumers.
Facebook Portal
Facebook Portal is Facebook’s lineup of smart video calling devices. The Alexa integrated displays allow hands-free video calling along with entertainment features like music, web videos, and more. Key Facebook Portal products include:
- Portal – The flagship smart display available in two sizes.
- Portal+ – Larger 15.6″ display with widescreen camera.
- Portal TV – A camera accessory for smart TV video calling.
- Portal Go – A compact, portable smart display.
The devices support Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp calls along with Zoom, GoToMeeting, BlueJeans and more. Portal is aimed at consumers seeking an easy way to video chat with friends and family.
Facebook Workplace
Facebook Workplace is the company’s enterprise connectivity platform for businesses and organizations. Similar to Facebook, it provides a dashboard, news feed, groups, chat, live video, and more – customized for the internal needs of companies. Key features include:
- Organization-wide News Feed
- Groups, Chat, Video
- Knowledge Library
- Events and Learning
- Integrations with Work Tools
- Analytics and Insights
Workplace is designed to help employees connect, collaborate, and share knowledge seamlessly for a more productive workplace.
Spark AR
Spark AR enables anyone to create augmented reality effects for Instagram and Facebook. It provides tools to visually customize faces, objects, environments, and more that can be shared through AR filters, masks, and effects in Stories, Reels, and other places. Some examples of AR effects created with Spark AR include:
- Interactive Face Filters
- Animal Faces, Features, and Masks
- Static Stickers and Overlays
- Environment Effects
- Product Visualization
Spark AR powers some of Instagram and Facebook’s most popular AR features and allows creators to produce new effects that delight and engage audiences.
Thread Games
Facebook’s Thread Games is a lightweight app for playing casual mobile games with friends and connections in countries like Thailand and Indonesia. It allows users to discover and play simplified versions of popular games together. Some example games include:
- Carrom
- Dominoes
- Snake Bash
- Poker
- Candy Crush
- Animal Puzzle
- Ludo
- Darts
Thread Games aims to bring people together through the joy of simple, social gaming. It provides a stripped down app experience tailored to regions where data access and connectivity may be limited.
Novi Digital Wallet
Novi is Facebook’s digital wallet designed to make sending and receiving money as easy as messaging. Users can instantly send Novi to each other at no fees through the Novi app. It uses cryptocurrency technology like blockchain to facilitate transfers. Novi features include:
- Instant transfers
- No hidden charges
- Secure encryption
- 24/7 support
- Transparent activity history
Novi aims to make digital payments and financial services accessible to those who can’t easily access banks today. It is currently available in the U.S. and Guatemala.
Facebook Horizon
Facebook Horizon is a virtual reality social platform. It allows users with VR headsets to explore virtual worlds, play games, build experiences, join events, and connect with others as customizable avatars. Horizon is accessed via the Oculus Headsets. Some key features include:
- Customizable Avatars
- Immersive Worlds
- Multiplayer Games
- User-Created Spaces
- Horizon Venues Events
- Voice and Hand Tracking
Facebook is positioning Horizon as the foundation of the metaverse – a virtual space where people can interact, play, create, work, and socialize together in new immersive ways.
Other Facebook Products
Some other notable products and services offered by Facebook include:
- Boomerang – An app to create mini video loops.
- Moments – An app for private photo/video sharing.
- M – An AI digital assistant inside Messenger.
- Bonfire – An app for private video sharing with friends.
- Tuned – A messaging app for couples.
- Atlas – An ad analytics and measurement tool.
- Facebook Gaming – A platform for live and on-demand games and streams.
- Quill – An animations tool for illustrators.
Conclusion
Facebook now encompasses far more than just its original social networking platform. Under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Inc. has acquired or launched dozens of different products and services across areas like messaging, payments, video, ecommerce, augmented reality, work tools, VR, and more.
Today Facebook operates more akin to a tech conglomerate, with its family of apps and technologies reaching billions of users globally. It has become one of the largest and most influential technology forces worldwide – far beyond its social media roots.