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Facebook, now known as Meta Platforms[2], is a major internet[7] company that started as a social networking platform. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, Facebook expanded rapidly from Harvard to other universities and later to the general public, becoming a global phenomenon. It is known for its user-friendly interface and various features such as Groups, the Developer Platform, and Facebook Dating[1]. Despite facing criticism for issues like privacy[8] breaches and the spread of fake news[4], Facebook has remained a dominant player in the online world. It has made significant strides in the field of technology[5], including the development of its unique data storage system, the use of PHP for its platform, and the launch of the Hack programming language. In recent years, the company has shifted its focus to the metaverse[6], a virtual reality[3] space where users can interact with a computer-generated environment.

Terms definitions
1. Facebook Dating ( Facebook Dating ) Facebook Dating is a feature within the popular social media app, Facebook, designed to help users find romantic partners. Launched initially in Colombia in September 2018, the service allows users to filter potential matches based on factors such as location, number of children, religion, age, or height, within a 100km range. The service also offers the option to search for users in or out of range temporarily, and a 'Lucky Match' filter that broadens the search parameters. Users who have matched can initiate a voice chat and receive automatic ice-breaking messages to facilitate conversation. Facebook Dating was unveiled at the F8 developer conference in May 2018, and since then, it has expanded to other countries, including Canada, Thailand, and several European nations. Future plans for Facebook Dating include integrating the service into the main Facebook app, expanding to additional countries, and continuously developing and enhancing the service based on user feedback.
2. Meta Platforms ( Meta Platforms ) Meta Platforms, Inc. is a leading technology conglomerate based in Menlo Park, California. It owns and operates a suite of popular digital platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. As one of the top American information technology companies, Meta's portfolio extends beyond social media, with acquisitions in virtual reality (Oculus), mapping (Mapillary), brain-computer interface technology (CTRL-Labs), and a strategic investment in Jio Platforms. The company heavily relies on advertising for revenue. It went public in 2012, raising $16 billion in one of the largest IPOs in US history. In recent years, Meta has shifted its focus towards building a metaverse, an integrated virtual environment, which led to its rebranding from Facebook in 2021. Despite facing challenges including data breaches, leadership changes, and changes in privacy regulations, the company continues to innovate in areas like artificial intelligence and new app development.
Facebook (Wikipedia)

Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, its name derives from the face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities. Since 2006, Facebook allows everyone to register from 13 years old (or older), except in the case of a handful of nations, where the age limit is 14 years. As of December 2022, Facebook claimed 3 billion monthly active users. As of October 2023, Facebook ranked as the 3rd most visited website in the world, with 22.56% of its traffic coming from the United States. It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s.

Facebook
Facebook logo Facebook wordmark
Logo used since September 2023
Screenshot
Mark Zuckerberg's profile (viewed when logged out)
Type of site
Social networking service
Available in112 languages
List of languages
Multilingual
Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Assamese, Azerbaijani, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Burmese, Catalan, Cebuano, Corsican, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Dutch (België), English (UK), English (US), English (upside down), Esperanto, Estonian, Faroese, Filipino, Finnish, French (Canada), French (France), Frisian, Fula, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Guarani, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Japanese (Kansai), Javanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Khmer, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Kurdish (Kurmanji), Kyrgyz, Lao, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malagasy, Malay, Malayalam, Maltese, Marathi, Mongolian, Nepali, Norwegian (bokmal), Norwegian (nynorsk), Odia, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Sardinian, Serbian, Shona, Silesian, Simplified Chinese (China), Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Sorani Kurdish, Spanish, Spanish (Spain), Swahili, Swedish, Syriac, Tajik, Tamazight, Tamil, Tatar, Telugu, Tetun, Thai, Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong), Traditional Chinese (Taiwan), Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Welsh and Zaza
FoundedFebruary 4, 2004; 20 years ago (2004-02-04) at Cambridge, Massachusetts
Area servedWorldwide, except blocking countries
OwnerMeta Platforms
Founder(s)
CEOMark Zuckerberg
URLfacebook.com
RegistrationRequired (to do any activity)
UsersIncrease 2.94 billion monthly active users (as of 31 March 2022)
LaunchedFebruary 4, 2004; 20 years ago (2004-02-04)
Current statusActive
Written inC++, Hack (as HHVM) and PHP

Facebook can be accessed from devices with Internet connectivity, such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones. After registering, users can create a profile revealing information about themselves. They can post text, photos and multimedia which are shared with any other users who have agreed to be their friend or, with different privacy settings, publicly. Users can also communicate directly with each other with Messenger, join common-interest groups, and receive notifications on the activities of their Facebook friends and the pages they follow.

The subject of numerous controversies, Facebook has often been criticized over issues such as user privacy (as with the Cambridge Analytica data scandal), political manipulation (as with the 2016 U.S. elections) and mass surveillance. Facebook has also been subject to criticism over psychological effects such as addiction and low self-esteem, and various controversies over content such as fake news, conspiracy theories, copyright infringement, and hate speech. Commentators have accused Facebook of willingly facilitating the spread of such content, as well as exaggerating its number of users to appeal to advertisers.

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