Meta
In short: Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META) owns Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads and WhatsApp. It was founded as TheFacebook in 2004, is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, and is led by chairman and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. Its dating product, Facebook Dating, launched in 2019 as a free service inside the Facebook app.
Key facts
| Type | Social media |
|---|---|
| Listed | META |
| Headquarters | USA |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Apps and brands | Facebook Dating |
People
- Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram
Former leaders
- John Hegeman, former Chief Revenue Officer (until 2025)
- John Hegeman, former Engineering leader, ads and Facebook app (until 2022)
- John Hegeman, former Head of Monetization (until 2024)
Apps and brands
- Facebook Dating: Meta's integrated dating feature within Facebook.
Stories about Meta
- Meta's Skeletal Scans: A Privacy Rubicon for Dating Apps?
Meta uses AI to analyse height and bone structure in photos to identify users under 13 on Facebook and Instagram, which dating apps should watch. - Meta's $375M Verdict: A Legal Blueprint for Dating Apps' Age Verification Failures
New Mexico jury awards $375 million in civil penalties against Meta over child safety claims, raising legal risk for dating apps' age checks. - Meta's 'Location Fees' Squeeze Dating Margins in Europe
Meta now charges advertisers 2-5% 'location fees' on campaigns in six countries, including the UK and France, raising user acquisition costs for dating apps. - Meta Is Suing the Scammers Who Use Its Platform to Run Romance Fraud. Years Too Late, But Here We Are.
Meta is suing scam operations in Brazil and Vietnam and sent cease-and-desist letters to eight former Business Partners over alleged fraud. - Meta Kills Messenger.com. Its Most Private Users Have Nowhere Left to Hide.
Meta will shut down messenger.com in April 2026, so desktop users who deactivated Facebook must reactivate it. Mobile access remains. - Meta and YouTube's Legal Fight Sets the Liability Framework Dating Apps Will Face Next
Over 1,600 plaintiffs are suing Meta and YouTube over addictive product design, and dating apps using similar mechanics could face parallel claims. - Meta's Ad Revenue Surge: A Costly Reality for Dating Apps
Meta's Q4 2025 ad revenue of $59.89 billion is raising customer acquisition costs for dating apps that rely on its platforms, the analysis argues. - Meta's Reels Mandate: Dating Apps Must Adapt or Face Rising CAC
Meta says more than half of Instagram time is now in Reels, pushing dating apps to swap static ads for video or face higher CAC. - Meta's Advantage+ Removes Dating Apps' Control Over Their Own Acquisition Spend
Meta is making Advantage+ automated ads the default for all advertisers, removing manual targeting as standard, which affects dating apps.
Also mentioned in
- DOJ reports 28 West Africa scam arrests with Meta's help
- US charges six over alleged dating-site crypto scam run from Africa
- Australia expects court action against five platforms over age ban
- Bumble to install Ithaca founders Gupta and Hegeman as co-CEOs
- Bumble agrees $1.3B sale to Ithaca Holdings at $6.05 a share
- Character.AI files for Chapter 11 as Disney bids $20M for its tech
- Instagram rules out dating feature as Mosseri points to DMs
- Facebook Dating's Quiet Dominance: A Free Model Disrupts Paid Platforms
- Australia's Digital Duty of Care: A Death Knell for Self-Regulation in Dating Apps
- Grindr's $3M Revenue Per Employee: Efficiency or Risk?
- Fake Dating Apps Poison User Trust: A Crisis for Startups
- New Zealand's Age Ban: A Costly Compliance for Dating Apps
- New York's SAFE for Kids Act: A Compliance Nightmare for Dating Apps
- Seattle's Matchmaking Boom: A Market Failure for Dating Apps?
- Facebook's Free Verification: A Trust Signal or Just Theatre?
- Meta's AI Ad Labels: A New Headache for Dating Apps
- Meta's AI Moderation Push: A Warning Shot for Dating Apps
- Social Media's $2.1B Scam Problem: A Wake-Up Call for Dating Apps
- Grindr's Madonna Move: A Test of Ad Revenue Over User Trust
- Match Group's $9B Model: Built on Psychological Exploitation?
- DateGuard's Biometric Gamble: Privacy Trade-Off or Surveillance Theatre?
- EU's Child Safety Lapse: A Compliance Crisis for Dating Apps
- Australia's Age Verification Warnings: Compliance Theatre Exposed
- Goldrush's 'Rejection Insurance' App: A Symptom, Not a Solution
- UK Dating Apps Face Existential Threat as Ofcom Enforces Child Safety Compliance
Questions about Meta
What does Meta do?
Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META) owns Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads and WhatsApp. It was founded as TheFacebook in 2004, is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, and is led by chairman and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.
Where is Meta based?
Meta is based in USA.
When was Meta founded?
Meta was founded in 2004.
Which apps does Meta own?
DII's directory lists Facebook Dating.
Also known as: Meta Platforms.