Facebook confirmed that it’s changing the name of its two most popular apps, Instagram and WhatsApp, to better disclose its ownership of the apps. Soon, Instagram will be known as “Instagram from Facebook” while WhatsApp will become “WhatsApp from Facebook.”
According to those sources, the app’s name will stay the same on the home screen 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.
The re-branding effort was discovered on Friday, and was then confirmed by representatives of Facebook.
“We want to be clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook,” a spokesperson told. Sources told the publication that they were recently notified of the changes and appear to be coming as a result of antitrust regulators scrutinizing the company’s holdings.
Admittedly, 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. Putting Facebook’s name on its two most popular apps certainly won’t make those apps any more popular than they are already and could possibly cause users to be more wary about the security and privacy of those apps.
Facebook has yet to say when the changes will go into effect, however we’ll continue to monitor the situation as it develops.
