Facebook is all set to change the name of its two most popular apps i.e. Instagram and WhatsApp. Yes, you read it right. Soon, Instagram will be known as “Instagram from Facebook” while WhatsApp will become “WhatsApp from Facebook”, reported techradar.com. The new named will appear in the title for both apps in Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
It is worth mentioning here that the re-naming effort was discovered by The Information on Friday. However, the re-naming of Whatsapp and Instagram was confirmed by representatives of Facebook. “We want to be clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook,” The Information quoted a spokesperson as saying.
The online news portal further quoted the sources told as saying that they were recently notified of the changes and appear to be coming as a result of antitrust regulators scrutinizing the company’s holdings. According to those sources, the app’s name will stay the same on the homescreen of your phone and tablet, however their names will change in the App Store for people first downloading them – a move the company has previously made with its virtual reality-focused sub-division, Oculus.
Notably, Jane Manchun Wong tweeted about the new branding back in March, 2019, just a few months after the founders of the company resigned citing a decreasing lack of autonomy. The founders of Instagram left Facebook last fall, just after WhatsApp founder Brian Acton and Jan Koum made their exits.
While it’s unclear if the move is a government mandate from the FTC – an entity that, according to The Wall Street Journal, was investigating Facebook’s acquisition of the companies in a potential antitrust case – it appears to be connected.
Importantly, Facebook doesn’t stand much to gain by putting its name on the apps. It’s already a household name, and one that has become associated with privacy scandals. Facebook has yet to say when the changes will go into effect.
