Who owns Meta? Who owns Facebook, Instagram? What to know

Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer
·2 min read

Meta social media platforms experienced technical difficulties Tuesday, leading many people to search questions about their favorite apps.

As reports poured in, social media users turned to Google for info on Meta, Facebook, Instagram and more. Here are answers to some of the most-searched questions Tuesday.

Users reported an Instagram and Facebook outage starting around 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Users reported an Instagram and Facebook outage starting around 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Who owns Meta?

According to Business Insider, Meta Platforms Inc., previously known as the Facebook Co., is a publicly-traded company, meaning it is not owned by a single person or group. However, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the majority shareholder of Meta, owning 13% of its stake as of January 2024.

The largest company shareholder is Vanguard Group Inc.

Facebook Co. changed to Meta in 2021.

Who owns Facebook?

Facebook, one of the largest social media networks in the world, is one of many platforms owned by Meta. Zuckerberg founded Facebook in February 2004 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Who owns Instagram?

Instagram, a photo and video-sharing website and app, is owned by Meta. Instagram launched Oct. 6, 2010, and was acquired by Facebook in 2012 for $1 billion.

Who owns Snapchat?

Snapchat, an instant messaging app, is not owned by Meta but is actually owned by the company Snap Inc. Snap Inc. was cofounded by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy in September 2011.

Spiegel has been the company's CEO since 2012.

Who owns Discord?

Discord, a popular communication and gaming platform, is another independent company founded by Jason Citron and Stanislav Vishnevskiy in 2015. CNBC reports that Microsoft offered to buy the company for $10 billion in 2021, but the deal fell through.

Who owns Threads?

Threads is a new text-based social media that launched in the summer of 2023 to compete with Twitter, now known as X. It is owned by Meta.

Who owns WhatsApp?

WhatsApp, an instant messaging and voiceover app, is owned by Meta. Meta acquired the company in 2014 for $19 billion.

Who owns Twitter?

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk purchased Twitter, now known as X, for $44 billion in October 2022.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk purchased Twitter, now known as X, for $44 billion in October 2022.

Twitter, a text-based social media app, was founded in 2004 by Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk purchased the platform for $44 billion in October 2022. Musk has since implemented many changes to the brand, including changing its name to X.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who owns Meta, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat? List of social media owners