Facebook to rebrand WhatsApp and Instagram

Facebook will be adding its name to both WhatsApp and Instagram, officially retitling the apps “WhatsApp from Facebook” and “Instagram from Facebook”, reports The Information.

This is according to several people familiar with the matter who recently spoke with the news site.

While Facebook has owned WhatsApp since 2014 and Instagram since 2012, the lack of the Facebook name on each application represented the platforms’ respective autonomy from their parent company, a separation that also shielded them from Facebook’s plethora of privacy scandals.

This change was confirmed by Facebook spokesperson Bertie Thomson who stated: “We want to be clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook.”

For months now, it has been publicly known that the company is working on connecting the messaging of their family of apps; allowing users to communicate across all three platforms, according to the company, will “open up more opportunities for e-commerce and keep users loyal to its messaging ecosystem”.

These revised titles will eventually be visible on the App Store and Play Store as well as directly within the apps.

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