Yahoo News WhatsApp and Instagram ‘to be renamed’ by owner Facebook
WhatsApp and Instagram are about to be renamed as Facebook tries to be clearer about its ownership of the two services.
The two services will be renamed Instagram from Facebook and WhatsApp from Facebook.
Facebook has not yet said when the name change will take effect.
The new titles will appear on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play store.
'We want to be clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook,' a company spokesman said of the update.
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Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion and WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion. The two form part of the 'Facebook family of apps' alongside the main Facebook app and Messenger.
Earlier this year, Facebook announced plans to integrate its messaging apps more closely, alongside a move towards end-to-end encryption across its services.
At the time, Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the plans were part of an effort 'to make it easier to reach friends and family across networks'.
