What new name did Facebook announce for its parent company on October 28, 2021?

Facebook announced Meta Platforms as the new name of its parent company on October 28, 2021.

The rebrand separated the corporate identity from Facebook, which remained the name of the social-networking service. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg presented the change during the company’s Connect conference, linking it to the company’s growing focus on the metaverse, virtual reality and augmented reality.

The company’s legal name became Meta Platforms, Inc., while its stock ticker changed from FB to META in June 2022. Its family of products continued to include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. This means Meta and Facebook are not interchangeable: Facebook is one product, whereas Meta is the parent company.

The change also followed a period when the company was increasingly described as a technology conglomerate rather than only a social-media business. The word “Meta” refers to a broader idea of moving beyond the company’s original identity, although the company did not replace the Facebook brand itself.