Facebook was launched in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard roommates.
The website went online on February 4, 2004, originally under the name “TheFacebook.” Zuckerberg developed it with fellow Harvard students Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. It began as a social directory for Harvard students.
Facebook expanded to other universities during 2004, then opened registration more widely over the following years. The name was shortened to Facebook in August 2005 after the company acquired the facebook.com domain.
A common mix-up is confusing Facebook’s launch with its incorporation. The service began in 2004, while Facebook, Inc. was incorporated later that year. The company eventually became Meta Platforms, Inc. in 2021, but Facebook remains the name of its social-networking service.