Facebook might soon get a new name, as hinted by an unnamed source familiar with the matter. The rebranding could be announced before the company’s annual Connect event scheduled for 28 October this year.
It is suggested that the aim of giving Facebook a new identity is for people to recognise it as something more than just a social media platform. This step will make the Facebook app one of the many products coming from the parent company. The other products include Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and more.
The rebranding is also expected to reveal what the social media company has in store for its users for the future. These changes might include the way its various apps function.
However, Facebook hasn’t commented on the matter. The social media giant has kept all details hidden, even the new name. Although, speculation suggests the name could be one related to Horizon, which is Facebook’s unreleased VR product. The name of the VR product was recently altered to Horizon Worlds.
There are chances that Zuckerberg will announce the change soon and will detail it at the upcoming Connect event this month.
For the uninitiated, the change was previously hinted at back in July. Mark Zuckerberg, in a statement to The Verge, said, the company will “effectively transition to being a metaverse company” from a social media company.
Facebook has been working full swing on the new “metaverse.” A dedicated team has been assembled and it has even announced that its AR and VR head, Andrew Bosworth, will be soon promoted to chief technology officer.
The Facebook founder and CEO said the metaverse would be its big focus and “is just going to be a big part of the next chapter for the way the Internet evolves after the mobile internet. And I think it’s going to be the next big chapter for our company too, really doubling down in this area.”
The company’s name change also comes on the heels of a former whistleblower employee of Facebook slamming the company for prioritising profits over policing hate speech and disinformation.