The infamous scene from The Social Network where Sean Parker (in character) utters the words, "Drop the 'The.' Just 'Facebook.' It's cleaner," was a fictional gift to mankind (at least it felt that way at the time). But that doesn't seem to be holding true in the real world - at least for the apps Facebook owns.
Instagram and WhatsApp are soon going to be renamed by adding Facebook's label to both apps. The change is happening soon and the company spokesperson confirmed the same. Brace yourselves for "Instagram from Facebook" and "WhatsApp from Facebook" instead of the cleaner Instagram and WhatsApp monikers.
"We want to be clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook," a company spokesperson told The Information.
Facebook's re-branding effort comes as a result of antitrust regulators scrutinising the company's holding, sources familiar with the matter told the publication. Thankfully enough, the names of both Facebook-owned apps will remain the same on your phone's home screen - at least for now. The real change will be in the Play Store and App Store, which is the first point of contact between the user and the apps.
There's no denying that Facebook has somewhat managed to draw youngsters to Instagram and WhatsApp - something it hasn't been able to with its own app. Putting a label that screams out loud that Facebook is indeed in charge of Instagram and WhatsApp just before downloading these apps could be seen as a turn off for many - that's what many users have opined.
Several users have voiced their disregard towards Facebook's re-branding effort. Here are some of those views picked up from Twitter.
This is good news. The more ‘facebook’ is written on stuff, the easier it is for people to see what apps they need to distant themselves from. Many people still don’t realise Facebook own instagram and WhatsApp so they use those thinking they are somehow better.
— Chris (@Chris_The_Onion) August 3, 2019
Although i know that Facebook owns Instagram and WhatsApp... But this will help me in ditching those apps.
— Rahul Saini (@saini507) August 3, 2019
...but tbh I think this will work in reverse: cheapening WhatsApp and Instagram brands by underscoring their Facebook association
— Anthony Bardaro (@AnthPB) August 3, 2019
I can’t see how this is a good idea. Facebook’s brand is poison atm. It’s a small miracle that WhatsApp and IG have been relatively unaffected by association.
— Diogo Marques (@DiogoExMachina) August 2, 2019
They should be kept as seemingly separate as possible.
The public don’t trust Facebook and are often unaware they own Instagram and WhatsApp, now it wants to damage those brands too by renaming them ??♂️
— Liam Daly (@liamdaly) August 3, 2019
This seems like it will be a future case study on how not to rebrand. https://t.co/fHeZIF6IlT
Like it or not, Facebook is going ahead with this change. It's only a matter of time before we see the rebranded apps go live on app stores. What are your thoughts?
