Facebook was renamed Meta Platforms in October 2021 to emphasize its focus on the metaverse.
Facebook announced the corporate name change to Meta Platforms on October 28, 2021. The social network itself kept the name Facebook, while Meta became the parent company for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other products.
Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the new name reflected the company’s interest in building the metaverse, a concept involving persistent virtual and augmented-reality spaces. Meta also reorganized its reporting structure, separating its Family of Apps business from Reality Labs, which develops virtual-reality hardware and software.
The change did not turn Facebook into a different social network. Facebook remained one product within Meta’s portfolio, just as Instagram and WhatsApp remained separate brands. Meta’s stock ticker changed from FB to META in June 2022.