Instagram to be Renamed By Facebook

It seems Facebook really wants everyone to know what apps they own.

According to The Information, the social network giant, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, will be renaming both Instagram and WhatsApp. The apps will soon be called "Instagram from Facebook" and "WhatsApp from Facebook."

Bertie Thomson, a Facebook spokeswoman, confirmed the reports. "We want to be clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook," she told The Information.

The new app names will appear in the Apple App Store as well as Google Play. While the "from Facebook" addition won't appear on the home screen, at least for now, it's possible the new name will be shown in other locations, including when the user logs on.

For example, Facebook already has added the addition to its VR brand, Oculus. It's now called "Oculus from Facebook."

This rebranding is a departure for Facebook, as the company until recently had permitted its apps to operate and be branded independently. The distance has not only helped the apps be separated from Facebook's privacy scandals but also has increased Instagram and WhatsApp's popularity.

The name changes follow Zuckerberg's recent announcement of his vision for a connected and end-to-end encrypted messaging system between Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

In April 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram for approximately $1 billion. The deal was officially closed on September 6, 2012. As a result of Facebook's purchase, Instagram's CEO Kevin Systrom took home a whopping $400 million, Wired reported at the time. Systrom and fellow co-founder Mike Kreiger stepped down from Instagram in September 2018. A week later, it was announced Adam Mosseri would be the new head of the photo-sharing app.

Instagram was Facebook's largest acquisition in its history -- that was until WhatsApp. Facebook purchased the cross-platform messaging app in February 2014 for $19.3 billion dollars. As of early 2018, WhatsApp had 1.5 billion users with 60 million messages a day, Tech Crunch reported at the time.

With the billions of users around the world, it'll be interesting to see what Instagram and WhatsApp fans think about Facebook adding their stamp on the apps' names.