Which company owns Instagram and WhatsApp after acquiring both services?
Answer
Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms owns Instagram and WhatsApp after acquiring both services.
The company formerly known as Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 for about $1 billion. It acquired WhatsApp in 2014 in a transaction valued at approximately $19.3 billion when stock and cash components were included.
Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta Platforms in October 2021. The rebrand reflected chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s stated focus on building the metaverse, while Facebook remained the name of the company’s social-networking product.
Instagram and WhatsApp continue to operate as recognizable brands, so the corporate relationship is easy to miss. Meta also owns Facebook Messenger and Threads. The company’s market value is tied to advertising, user engagement, and its expanding family of communication platforms.