Instagram belongs to Meta, the company that also owns Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg therefore does not own Instagram on his own. So why do people often mention Facebook? That company bought Instagram before it adopted the name Meta. It is therefore important to distinguish between Facebook as an app and Facebook as the former company name.
Below, you will learn how these names are connected and what the difference is between the owner of Instagram and the owner of an account.
Does Instagram belong to Facebook or Meta?
Instagram falls under Meta. Meta is the parent company: a company that other companies operate under. Facebook is still the name of the social app, but it was also the name of the parent company in the past.
On 28 October 2021, the company presented Meta as its new umbrella name. This is stated in the official announcement from Meta.
If you read in an older article that Instagram belongs to Facebook, Facebook may be the former company name in that context. It does not mean that Instagram became part of the Facebook app.
| Name | What does that name mean? |
|---|---|
| Meta | The parent company behind Instagram and Facebook. |
| The social app and the former name of the parent company. | |
| The service where you share photos and videos, among other things. | |
| Mark Zuckerberg | Co founder of Facebook and shareholder in Meta. |
Does Mark Zuckerberg own Instagram?
Mark Zuckerberg does not own Instagram entirely himself. He is a co founder of Facebook and a shareholder in Meta. A shareholder owns a part of a company. Meta also has other shareholders.
People sometimes simply say that Instagram is ‘Zuckerberg’s’. But if you want to know which company owns Instagram, Meta is the answer.
Who founded Instagram?
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger founded Instagram. The app launched in 2010. Mark Zuckerberg was therefore not the founder.
A founder is not always the current owner. The founder starts a company. If they sell the company, it gets a different owner. This does not change who founded it.
When did Facebook buy Instagram?
The acquisition dates back to 2012. On 9 April 2012, Facebook announced that it wanted to buy Instagram for approximately 1 billion dollars in cash and shares. This is stated in the official announcement of the acquisition agreement.
This was the announcement date, not necessarily the day on which the acquisition was fully completed. The amount also related to the announced agreement. It is therefore not automatically the final acquisition price.
What does Instagram LLC mean?
Instagram LLC is a legal company name associated with Instagram. LLC stands for Limited Liability Company. This is an American business structure. The owners generally do not have to pay the company’s debts with their own money.
This separate name does not mean that Instagram is independent of Meta. A company can belong to a larger group and still have its own legal name.
Do you want to know which company you have an agreement with as a user in the Netherlands or Belgium? Check the company name in the terms that apply to your account. The name Instagram LLC alone does not provide a complete answer.
What does owner of an Instagram account mean?
By ‘the owner of an Instagram account’, people usually mean the person or organisation behind a profile. Sometimes they mean the person who manages the account. This is therefore not about the owner of the app.
- Who owns Instagram? This concerns the company behind the service.
- Whose profile is this? This concerns the person or organisation behind an account.
- Who can manage this account? This concerns who has access to the account.
Suppose you create a profile for your cooking photos and also let your partner post messages. In this fictional example, you manage an account together. That does not mean you own a share of Instagram. Which legal rights you have regarding the account or the photos is a separate question. If you also publish your own content, our Instagram services includes packages for followers and likes. The product pages show the available quantities and prices.
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