Facebook changes corporate logo to distinguish products from main app

Facebook 's logo is getting a refresh. On Monday, the social media giant said it's changing its corporate logo from one that's synonymous with its main Facebook app and website to one that can better mesh with the other products it owns and operates, including Instagram , WhatsApp and Oculus. 

Antonio Lucio, Facebook's chief marketing officer, said in a blog post that the new branding -- which has the Facebook name spelled out in a different font than the one that's adorned its namesake service for years -- was "designed for clarity, and uses custom typography and capitalization to create visual distinction between the company and app."

The new logo is designed to pair with its various services, changing color to match the product it's accompanying, such as green for WhatsApp or the purple and orange hue that's associated with Instagram. The move is also a sign that Facebook is trying to make it more obvious to consumers that it owns other social networks and messaging services. In October, the Pew Research Center released a survey that showed only 29% of Americans know Facebook owns both WhatsApp and Instagram.  

The change comes as the Federal Trade Commission and multiple state attorneys general are looking into whether Facebook purchased Instagram and WhatsApp to stifle competition and if these actions harmed consumers. The company has also faced calls from politicians and even a co-founder to split WhatsApp and Instagram from Facebook. At the same time, Facebook is working on a way for people who use Facebook Messenger, Instagram direct message and WhatsApp to send messages to each other without having to switch apps.

The new branding makes it more pronounced that Facebook owns Instagram and WhatsApp. The tech giant said in August it was rebranding Instagram and WhatsApp so users know they're part of Facebook. Currently, Instagram's login screen says it's "from Facebook" but the information is in gray text. With the new change, the word Facebook is all capital letters and includes colors associated with Instagram at the bottom of the login screen. 

"People should know which companies make the products they use," Lucio wrote in the blog post. "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."

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey , who has also criticized Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency, weighed in on the new logo Tuesday morning with a tweet mocking the change.

Originally published on Nov. 4 at 9:33 a.m. PT.
Updated at 11:19 a.m.: Adds more background; Nov. 5 at 11:11 a.m.: Adds tweet from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.