Facebook Rebrands Instagram and WhatsApp

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Salty that Instagram and WhatsApp are more popular than Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg wants to rebrand the two social apps to make it clear who owns them (via The Information—soft paywall).

From Facebook

It won’t be a complete rebranding; The two apps will be renamed as “Instagram from Facebook” and “WhatsApp from Facebook.” Facebook has a negative view with people and the media (with good reason), but the fact that the company owns Instagram and WhatsApp isn’t well known with some people. Mark Zuckerberg wants to change that.

The app rebranding is a major departure for Facebook, which until recently had allowed the apps to operate and be branded independently. The distance has helped both apps avoid being tarnished by the privacy scandals that have hurt Facebook…

But Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also been frustrated that Facebook doesn’t get more credit for the growth of Instagram and WhatsApp. Associating those apps with Facebook could improve the overall companies’ brand with consumers.

I disagree. My take on this news is that if people know the connection between Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, it might start to damage the latter apps’ reputations as well. But in any case, I think the move is good. Knowledge is power after all, and people can make more informed decisions about their social media use.

Further Reading:

[How to Permanently Delete Your Facebook Account]

[Developers, it’s Time to Delete the Facebook SDK]

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