Facebook's parent company since 2021 is Meta. Facebook, the social network, remains one of Meta's major products, but the corporate parent changed its name to Meta Platforms, Inc. in October 2021.
The rebranding reflected Mark Zuckerberg's plan to build a broader company around the “metaverse,” a term covering immersive virtual and augmented-reality experiences. The company kept Facebook as the name of its flagship social network while placing it alongside Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Reality Labs under the Meta umbrella.
A common mix-up is confusing Meta with Alphabet. Alphabet is Google's parent company, while Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Another detail readers often miss is that the legal corporate name is Meta Platforms, Inc.; “Meta” is the widely used short form.