By now, most of you must be knowing that Instagram and WhatsApp are owned by Facebook, but just in case you don’t, Facebook will make sure y...
By now, most of you must be knowing that Instagram and WhatsApp are owned by Facebook, but just in case you don’t, Facebook will make sure you know who is in charge. After owning the two popular social media ‘rivals’ for more than half a decade, Facebook will update the names of the apps to reflect the ownership more clearly. Instagram will be named ‘Instagram from Facebook’ and WhatsApp will now be called ‘WhatsApp from Facebook’. Next time there is something wrong with the apps, you know whom to blame.
The name-change was first reported by The Information, after which Facebook also confirmed the same to various publications. Fortunately, the apps will still be called WhatsApp and Instagram on your home screen, but on the app stores, the names will be followed by the “from Facebook” phrase. It’s part of a larger overhaul in naming properties owned by Facebook. The company’s Workplace app also received the same treatment and so did Oculus which is now ‘Oculus from Facebook’.
“We want to be clearer about the products and services that are a part of Facebook,” a Facebook spokesperson told The Information. This could be the build-up to the connected and encrypted vision of Mark Zuckerberg to bring all messaging apps under the same umbrella for users. Essentially, instant messaging from Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp could one day be accessed from the same place.
The sudden rush to claim ownership from Facebook is surprising considering the bevy of charges against the company for violating user privacy. It can be argued that being separated from the social network app has done a lot of good to Instagram and WhatsApp, the former now one of the most used social media apps and the latter the largest instant messaging app. Both of them enjoy a lot more trust from users, even though, neither is devoid of pressing issues that needs to be addressed.
The change also comes at a time when the FTC, the US’ trade supervision body decided to open an investigation into Facebook’s acquisitions over the years to see whether the company made the acquisition with the goal of eliminating competition. Funny how Facebook is now rushing to paint it’s name on everything it owns right when it came under scrutiny for being anti-competitive.
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