Meta Platforms developed the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp family of social platforms.
Meta Platforms is the corporate name adopted by Facebook, Inc. in October 2021. The company retained Facebook as the name of its flagship social network while placing Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp within its broader family of applications.
Facebook began in 2004, Instagram was acquired in 2012, and WhatsApp was acquired in 2014. These services give Meta a global network of users and provide advertising, messaging, creator, and business tools.
Meta’s name change is sometimes confused with a rebranding of Facebook itself. Facebook remains a product, whereas Meta Platforms is the publicly traded parent company. The company also invests in virtual and augmented reality through its Reality Labs division and sells Quest headsets.