Meta operates Facebook, the social-networking service founded in 2004.
Facebook was launched by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes at Harvard University on February 4, 2004. It initially served Harvard students before expanding to other universities and eventually to users more broadly.
The company operating Facebook was originally called Facebook, Inc. It changed its corporate name to Meta Platforms, Inc. in October 2021 to emphasize work involving the metaverse, while Facebook remained the name of the social network. Meta also owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.
A common confusion is treating Meta and Facebook as interchangeable names. Facebook is a major product and platform; Meta is the parent company. The social network’s name did not change to Meta when the corporate name changed.