While Instagram and WhatsApp are both owned by Facebook, it’s not something that the average consumer needs to know. The social media company is looking to change this by adding the “from Facebook” suffixes to their names. In effect, Instagram will soon be known as Instagram from Facebook. The same applies to WhatsApp, which will soon be called WhatsApp from Facebook.
The Information reported on the planned change, and it appears that Facebook has confirmed that it is indeed planning to do so. A spokesperson was quoted as saying “We want to be clearer about the products and services that are a part of Facebook.” This may also tie in with the cross-messaging feature that will supposedly come with Facebook Messenger version 5.
For now, the name changes are only planned for the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Specifically, this means that you’ll see the new names when downloading them from the digital storefronts. On your device, the apps will reportedly still retain their short names.
It’s an interesting move by the social media company, to say the least. This is especially considering that it’s currently under investigation under antitrust violations bu the US FTC.
(Source: The Information via The Verge, The New York Times)
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