Facebook adopted the name Meta as its parent company in 2021.
Facebook announced the corporate rebrand to Meta Platforms on October 28, 2021. The change separated the name of the parent company from Facebook, the social-networking service, and highlighted the company's growing interest in virtual and augmented reality.
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger remained major products under the new parent company. Meta also developed Reality Labs, its division for virtual-reality hardware and software, including the Quest headset line.
The word “metaverse” refers broadly to proposed immersive, persistent digital environments. Meta's rebrand did not mean that the Facebook social network disappeared; instead, Facebook became one product within a broader technology company.