Why Facebook just changed its company logo

Facebook, the company, just changed its logo and is putting the new design all over its products to show that they are different than Facebook, the app. 

The new logo, unveiled Monday, features a new, generic looking, all-caps design. Over the next couple weeks, it will start appearing on Facebook’s company websites, as well as Facebook-owned services like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. The old blue logo will remain the logo for Facebook, the social network. 

It might seem like a bizarre change for Facebook, whose blue logo has become an iconic part of its brand. But the change could have a number of potential upsides for the company, which is currently facing multiple investigations and a public backlash over privacy concerns.

“We’re introducing a new company logo and further distinguishing the Facebook company from the Facebook app, which will keep its own branding,” Facebook Chief Marketing Officer Antonio Lucio explains.

By more clearly distinguishing between Facebook, the company, and Facebook, the app, the company can help ensure its other services, like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Oculus, remain untarnished even as Facebook faces scandal after scandal. (Note that a surprising number of people still aren’t aware Facebook owns Instagram.)

At the same time, Facebook’s CMO told Bloomberg he believes adding Facebook’s branding to its other services makes more people view Facebook, the company, in a positive light.

Facebook has been steadily increasing its control over WhatsApp and Instagram. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed earlier this year that he plans to merge the underlying infrastructure behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to enable messaging between the three services. The company also officially added “from Facebook” to the names of Instagram and WhatsApp.

Some have speculated that keeping prominent Facebook branding on its other services could help Facebook insulate itself from a potential breakup. As long as WhatsApp and Instagram were able to operate relatively independently from their parent company, regulators could have a much stronger case for requiring Facebook to spin them off into separate companies. But the more Facebook’s infrastructure, and its brand, is embedded in these services, the harder that process becomes. 

“This brand change is a way to better communicate our ownership structure to the people and businesses who use our services to connect, share, build community and grow their audiences,” Lucio writes.