Here is a timeline of Facebook's WhatsApp and Instagram acquisitions:Īpril 2012: Facebook acquires Instagram for a whopping $1 billion.
Other than Instagram and WhatsApp, the only acquisition that matches them in dollar value was when it acquired Oculus for $2 billion in 2014. Some deals have remained secretive, but few attracted attention more than its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. It has acquired startups and companies to build out its efforts in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, messaging, chatbots and other technologies. Despite the expansion, it has been noted that all original founders of the apps have since left Facebook.Few of Facebook's acquisitions have attracted more attention that when it purchased Instagram and WhatsAppįacebook has acquired dozens of companies in the years since it was founded in 2004. Instagram has around 1 billion monthly active users and WhatsApp has 1.5 billion users. Since the acquisition, both apps have rapidly grown. Merging WhatsApp with Facebook Messenger and Instagram, could result in users being forced to share information about themselves that they would prefer to keep private.ĭata privacy expert Tim Mackey, who works at the software firm Synopsys, stated “Merging personal information and privacy configurations from three significant applications won’t be trivial…Facebook development teams would do well to look at this precedent and prioritise user privacy”.įacebook acquired Instagram for approximately £761m in 2012, before taking over the messaging app WhatsApp in 2014 for an estimated £14.7bn. Currently WhatsApp users are not required to provide any identifying information beyond their phone number to use the messaging app. A spokesperson for Facebook said the merger would deliver a messaging platform that was fast, simple, reliable and private.ĭata experts have, however, warned it could have an impact on people’s privacy. It has been stated that the apps will remain distinct from each other, although the underlying messaging infrastructure would be unified. The merger is intended to create “the best messaging experiences” for the billions of users around the world who use the Facebook-owned apps.
No official details have been released, however The New York Times reported that the merger is expected to take place by early next year. Facebook has announced plans to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.
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