Facebook began as a student’s social network at Harvard College back in 2004. The website was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, along with his friends Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. Later this student’s social network was expanded to Columbia, Stanford, and Yale universities after getting a good response from Harvard College students. The social networking website was made available to All in 2006. Anyone who is at least 13 years old can register to create a free account on Facebook and connect with other people using the social network. With time, the website became quite popular and now Facebook is one of the most valuable tech companies. In its journey, the company also acquired several other companies and apps to expand business in other verticals. Some acquisitions were big and created media buzz, but some acquisitions were silent. So, there’s a possibility that you are using an app or service, but you don’t know it is owned by Facebook.
Facebook also wants people to know that it owns the web by owning most of the popular apps and websites. That’s the reason created a new brand last year by unveiling a new logo and also started using its own logo in some of the apps it owns.
Now you can see the new Facebook logo in other apps owned by Facebook. You can also see it on WhatsApp’s splash screen.
In this article, I will be telling some of the popular apps and companies Facebook owns. Here Facebook means Facebook Inc, the company. Basically, I will list Facebook-owned companies which are operating independently and other apps that the company launched alongside Facebook. I will not list any accusation that Facebook did and merged or killed the product. If you are interested to know what does Facebook own or Facebook Inc subsidiaries, keep reading. I will list what companies does Facebook own and Facebook inc subsidiaries. Facebook and Messenger are primary products of Facebook Inc. Facebook laid the foundation of this billion-dollar company.
1. Facebook
Facebook is the primary app of the social network that lets you check your Facebook feed, post status updates, share photos, and videos. You can also search for more people, check other people’s profiles, access group updates, and manage your pages. The app also sends you notifications, so you always know what’s happening around your social network. The original Facebook app was launched in 2010. The app was released for Apple, Android, Nokia, and Blackberry phones. Facebook Lite is the lighter version of the app for low-end phones.
2. Messenger
Messenger is a Facebook that lets you talk to your Facebook friends. The company also recently opened Messenger for no Facebook users. Messenger lets you have text conversations, video calls, audio calls, and share files. The company has also recently merged Instagram DM and Messenger, so you can also use Messenger to talk to your Instagram friends if you have connected both accounts. Facebook chat came back in 2008, but the standalone Messenger iOS and Android apps were released in August 2011. In April 2020, Facebook also released Messenger for Desktop that includes Windows 10 and macOS apps. Messenger Lite and Messenger Kids are also some of the versions of Messenger apps.
3. Instagram
Even if many people already know, several people ask me questions like who owns Instagram or does Facebook own Instagram. Instagram (Also known as Insta or IG) was initially released back on October 6, 2010, as an app for iOS. It took more than the next 18 months to bring the Instagram app for Android, but the app received more than one million downloads in just 24 hours of release on the Play Store. To people’s surprise, a week after the Android app release, Facebook bought Instagram for a $1 billion in cash and stock deal. It also confirmed the Instagram will be an independent app. Once April 9, 2012, Facebook is the owner of Instagram. In 2018, Instagram was estimated to be worth more than $100 billion. So, you can assume how good this investment turned out for Facebook. After the ban on Tiktok in India, Instagram released Reels and enjoyed boosted engagement and daily active usage.
4. WhatsApp
WhatsApp is a popular messaging app that boasts over 2 billion users globally. Along with text conversations, the app also lets people make video calls and voice calls. One can also share location, photos, documents, audio, and contacts. Now Indian users can also use WhatsApp to send and receive payments using WhatsApp Pay. This multi-purpose app is also owned by Facebook. Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion.
WhatsApp was initially released in February 2009 and the company was founded by Brian Acton and Jan Koum, former employees of Yahoo. The app as initially released for iOS and Android app was released in August 2010. In January 2015, the company released the WhatsApp web that uses WhatsApp web QR code to log in and use. Now WhatsApp also has desktop clients for Windows and macOS.
5. Oculus
Oculus, formerly known as Oculus VR, is now a subsidiary of Facebook Inc. It works on virtual reality headsets. Some notable products are Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest lines. Facebook acquired Oculus for $2 billion in March 2014. Facebook’s Oculus deal didn’t go well because it had to face a lawsuit by ZeniMax, a well-known gaming company. ZeniMax claimed that Oculus Rift was built based on the stolen code and research. ZeniMax also won the lawsuit and was awarded $250M in damages from court.
Even if Facebook owns Oculus, the company runs independently and works on VR products. Oculus VR was founded by Palmer Luckey, Brendan Iribe, Michael Antonov, and Nate Mitchell back in July 2012. Samsung also partnered with Oculus n 2014 to develop Gear VR. Now when the company is part of Facebook, it is wrong on some ambitious products.
6. Giphy
Giphy is basically a GIF search engine where you can search for GIFs for different emotions. The app also lets you upload and are GIFs. Facebook acquired GOF earlier this year and promised to keep it independent. Facebook’s different apps including Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp have Giphy GIF integration. Several other apps like Twitter, Pinterest, Slack, Reddit use Giphy’s APIs to integrate GIF on their platform. Even after this acquisition, all other companies kept using Giphy in the same way. Giphy began in February 2013 and was founded by Alex Chung and Jace Cooke. The Giphy also raised several rounds of funding before being part of Facebook. Facebook reportedly paid $400 million for this deal. Since May 2016, Facebook owns Giphy.
7. E.gg
E.gg is an experimental app that isn’t available to all users. For now, the app is only for the iOS platform and lets users beautiful posters by adding photos, GIFs, and texts. You can also draw something if you want. Everything you make also has a unique link, so you can easily share it with anyone. You can also browse other people’s creations and get inspired. This is still an experimental app but the company is now thinking to open the app for all.
8. Facebook Local
Facebook Local is a discovery app that lets you discover places and activities recommended by friends and people you trust. You will get recommendations based on what’s popular with your friends. It also shows recent activity, events, and places your friends are interacting with. You can also use the app to search for events, places, and activities nearby. It requires you to sign in using Facebook account.
9. Facebook Business Suite
Facebook Business Suite (formerly Facebook Pages Manager and Facebook Business Manager) is an app to manage your Facebook pages. You can use the app to check page notifications, interact with your followers, respond to messages, and track the page’s growth. Even if you can post to pages using the Facebook app, the Facebook Business Manager app is recommended to manage your pages in a better way.
10. Creator Studio
Creator Studio app is for influencers who can use this app to manage their Facebook page, manage content, create or schedule posts, and see analytics to understand Page’s growth. The app basically focuses on video content and lets you edit video titles & descriptions, shows Video Insights and earnings you earned from videos. You can track Video Engagement and manage comments using the app.
11. Workplace
Workplace was Facebook’s attempt to be a social network of business or a communication tool for employees working in a company. Workplace app is basically the app that lets people use the corporate version of Facebook and connect to other employees or the company. The app has familiar features like Groups, Chat, and Video Calls. It also has the integration of Microsoft, Google, Dropbox, and more. Your Workplace account is different from your Facebook account. All your data is managed separately.
THere’s also a WorkPlace Chat app that lets you talk to people in your WorkPlace network. It is similar to Messenger for Facebook.
12. Facebook Gaming
Facebook Gaming is Facebook’s attempt to compete against YouTube gaming and Twitch. Facebook Gaming app lets users watch live gameplay by gamers who play their games live on Facebook. The app also lets you play instant games anytime and connect with gaming groups. There are some notable game streamers on Facebook. If you watch their gameplay, you can download the Facebook Gaming app. The app notifies when your favorite streamer is online and streaming.
13. Study from Facebook
Study from Facebook app is not for all but for people who are in the Facebook Study program. If you haven’t been invited to join the program, the app will not work on your phone. Study from Facebook app is for Facebook’s research and it uses the app to collect phone data, your activities, and time you spend in each app. Facebook then uses this data to make further product decisions.
14. Layout
Layout from Instagram is basically a collage maker app that lets you add up to 9 of your photos to create a collage. You can either choose photos from your gallery or care photos using the camera. After making the collage, you can save the photo on your phone to share on different social media platforms.
15. Boomerang
Boomerang is one of the features on Instagram. It lets you create mini videos that loop back and forth. When the feature got popularity, the company released a dedicated app called Boomerang from Instagram. The app uses the front or back camera of the phone to record a moment with just a tap of the button. It basically captures 10 photos and stitches them together to make a video. It also speeds up the video and then loops it back and forth. The app doesn’t require an account to use.
16. Threads
Threads app is basically Messenger for Instagram but for close friends. Threads from the Instagram app lets you connect with your close friends. When you have selected your close friends, the app shows messages, statuses, and stories from close friends first. You can use the app to access DM and chat with your close friends even if they don’t use Threads. You can also quickly send photos and videos right from the camera.
17. Facebook Viewpoints
Facebook Viewpoints Is similar to Google’s Opinion Rewards. You can download the app and answer survey questions. For your answers, you get a small bundle of points. You can then use these points for various prizes. Facebook claims that it doesn’t don’t sell your information from this app to third parties. It only uses your answers to create better apps and services.
18. IGTV
IGTV is basically Instagram’s expansion as a long-form video platform. IGTV lets creators share long video content but in the form of vertical videos. The app requires you to sign in with your Instagram or Facebook account. Then you can start watching videos. The app lets you search for more videos and creators. You can also use the app to record and upload videos on IGTV instantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What companies does Facebook own?
A. Most of the companies Facebook acquired were merged into the parent company and the team joined Facebook. WhatsApp, Instagram, Oculus, and Giphy are working independently. Facebook also owns monitory stakes in India’s telecom giant Jio.
Q. Does Facebook own Instagram?
A. Yes, Facebook owns Instagram. Facebook acquired the photo-sharing app Instagram back in 2012.
Q. Who owns WhatsApp?
A. Social-media giant Facebook owns WhatsApp. It acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for a whopping $19 billion.
Q. Who owns Instagram?
A. Social-media giant Facebook owns WhatsApp. Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012.
Q. Which apps are bought by Facebook?
A. Facebook bought several apps including WhatsApp, Instagram, MSQRD, Move, LiveRail, and Onavo. Most apps were killed and teams or features were merged in Facebook. Only WhatsApp and Instagram are running independently.
Q. How many apps are owned by Facebook?
A. Facebook owns a lot of apps and a few of which are experimental. If you count app, there are certainly more than 25 apps owned by Facebook.
Q. Does Mark Zuckerberg own Snapchat?
A. No. Mark Zuckerberg tried but couldn’t buy Snapchat. Facebook reportedly offers $3 billion to Snapchat in 2013 but Snapchat denied the offer. Snapchat is still owned by Snap Inc.
Q. Does Facebook own Snapchat 2020?
A. No, Facebook does not own Snapchat. Snapchat is owned by Snap Inc.
