Which social-network company bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014?

Meta Platforms bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.

The company making these acquisitions was then called Facebook, Inc.; it adopted the name Meta Platforms in 2021. Facebook announced its agreement to acquire Instagram in April 2012, and the transaction was completed later that year. In February 2014, Facebook announced its purchase of WhatsApp in a deal valued at approximately US$19 billion at announcement.

Instagram was founded in 2010 as a photo-sharing service by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. WhatsApp was founded in 2009 by Jan Koum and Brian Acton and became a major global messaging service. Both acquisitions expanded Facebook’s reach beyond its original social-network product.

The transactions did not make Instagram and WhatsApp the same service as Facebook. They remained distinct products with separate identities, although Meta has connected some features across its family of apps. The corporate rebranding to Meta came years after both purchases.