ArianTazwer: Created page with "{{short description|Social networking service owned by Meta Platforms}} {{About|the social media service|its owner, formerly known as Facebook, Inc.|Meta Platforms}} {{distinguish|Face book}} {{pp-semi-indef}} {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} {{pp-move}} {{Use American English|date=June 2015}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox website | name = Facebook | logo = Facebook logo File:Facebook logo (2023).svg|175px|Facebook wordmark..."

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Created page with "{{short description|Social networking service owned by Meta Platforms}} {{About|the social media service|its owner, formerly known as Facebook, Inc.|Meta Platforms}} {{distinguish|Face book}} {{pp-semi-indef}} {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} {{pp-move}} {{Use American English|date=June 2015}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox website | name = Facebook | logo = 75px|Facebook logo File:Facebook logo (2023).svg|175px|Facebook wordmark..."

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{{short description|Social networking service owned by Meta Platforms}}
{{About|the social media service|its owner, formerly known as Facebook, Inc.|Meta Platforms}}
{{distinguish|Face book}}

{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2015}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Facebook
| logo = [[File:2023 Facebook icon.svg|75px|Facebook logo]] [[File:Facebook logo (2023).svg|175px|Facebook wordmark]]
| logo_caption = Logo used since September 2023
| screenshot = Facebook user page.png
| caption = Mark Zuckerberg's profile (viewed when [[Login|logged out]]), 2023
| collapsible = no
| type = [[Social networking service]]
| language = [[Multilingualism|Multilingual]]<br />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
| language_count = 112
| language_footnote = <ref>{{cite web|title=Facebook Interface Languages|url=https://www.facebook.com/language.php|website=Facebook (Select your language)|access-date=July 19, 2020|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126220101/http://www.facebook.com/language.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
| founded = {{Start date and age|2004|02|04}} in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]], US
| area_served = Worldwide, except [[Censorship of Facebook|blocking countries]]
| founder = {{Unbulleted list | [[Mark Zuckerberg]] | [[Dustin Moskovitz]] | [[Chris Hughes]] | [[Andrew McCollum]] | [[Eduardo Saverin]]}}
| CEO = Mark Zuckerberg
| url = {{URL|https://www.facebook.com/|facebook.com}}
| registration = Required (to do any activity)
| users = {{increase}} 3.04 billion monthly active users ({{as of|2025|06|05|lc=yes}})<ref name="investor-report">{{cite web |title=Facebook Reports First Quarter 2022 Results |url=https://investor.fb.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2022/Meta-Reports-First-Quarter-2022-Results/default.aspx |website=Facebook Investor Relations |access-date=April 27, 2022 |date=March 31, 2022 |archive-date=June 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605105810/https://investor.fb.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2022/Meta-Reports-First-Quarter-2022-Results/default.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2004|02|04}}
| owner = [[Meta Platforms]]
| current_status = Active
| programming_language = [[C++]], [[Hack (programming language)|Hack]] (as [[HHVM]]) and [[PHP]]
| footnotes = <ref name="Our History">{{cite web|title=Our History|url=https://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/|website=Facebook|access-date=November 7, 2018|archive-date=November 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115110456/https://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Gavin|last=Clarke|title=Facebook re-write takes PHP to an enterprise past|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/02/facebook_hiphop_unveiled/|website=[[The Register]]|publisher=Situation Publishing|date=February 2, 2010|access-date=March 23, 2017|archive-date=May 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528131046/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/02/facebook_hiphop_unveiled/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/02/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-platform-publisher-lawsuit|title=Is Facebook a publisher? In public it says no, but in court it says yes|first=Sam|last=Levin|date=July 3, 2018|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=June 23, 2019|archive-date=February 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221205000/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/02/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-platform-publisher-lawsuit|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
{{Facebook sidebar}}

'''Facebook''' is an American [[social media]] and [[social networking service]] owned by the American technology conglomerate [[Meta Platforms|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 University|Harvard]] students, gradually expanding to other North American universities.

Since 2006, Facebook allows everyone to register from 13 years old, except in the case of a handful of nations, where the age requirement is 14 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=How do I report a child under the age of 14 on Facebook in South Korea, Spain or Quebec, Canada? |url=https://www.facebook.com/help/100532533374396/?helpref=related_articles%3DHow |website=Facebook |access-date=October 9, 2023 |archive-date=October 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013215702/https://www.facebook.com/help/100532533374396/?helpref=related_articles=How |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|2023|December|df=US}}, Facebook claimed almost 3.07 billion monthly [[active users]] worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Many Users Does Facebook Have in 2024? |url=https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/how-many-users-does-facebook-have |access-date=January 11, 2025 |website=Oberlo}}</ref> {{As of|July 2025}}, Facebook ranked as the [[List of most-visited websites|third-most-visited website in the world]], with 23% of its traffic coming from the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.similarweb.com/website/facebook.com/#geography|title=facebook.com|website=similarweb.com|access-date=November 15, 2023|archive-date=November 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112112639/https://www.similarweb.com/website/facebook.com/#geography|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the most downloaded [[mobile app]] of the 2010s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://9to5mac.com/2019/12/16/apps-and-games-of-the-decade/|title=These were the most-downloaded apps and games of the decade|last=Miller|first=Chance|date=December 17, 2019|website=9to5Mac|language=en-US|access-date=December 17, 2019|archive-date=December 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217130013/https://9to5mac.com/2019/12/16/apps-and-games-of-the-decade/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Facebook can be accessed from devices with [[Internet]] connectivity, such as [[personal computer]]s, [[Tablet computer|tablets]] and [[smartphone]]s. After registering, users can create a profile revealing personal information about themselves. They can post text, photos and multimedia which are shared with any other users who have agreed to be their [[Friending and following|friend]] or, with different [[privacy settings]], publicly. Users can also [[Instant messaging|communicate directly]] with each other with [[Facebook Messenger|Messenger]], edit messages (within 15 minutes after sending),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mezha.media/en/2023/12/12/facebook-messenger-finally-allows-you-to-edit-messages-but-you-ll-only-have-15-minutes-to-do-so/|title=Facebook Messenger finally allows you to edit messages, but you'll only have 15 minutes to do so|website=Mezha.Media}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/11/23997428/messenger-now-lets-you-edit-messages|title=Messenger now lets you edit messages.|first=Jay|last=Peters|date=December 11, 2023|website=The Verge}}</ref> join common-interest groups, and receive [[Notification service|notifications]] on the activities of their Facebook friends and the pages they follow.

Facebook has [[Criticism of Facebook|often been criticized]] over issues such as [[Internet privacy|user privacy]] (as with the [[Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal]]), political manipulation (as with the [[Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections#Social media and Internet trolls|2016 U.S. elections]]) and [[mass surveillance]].<ref>{{cite web|date=May 24, 2018|title=Facebook accused of conducting mass surveillance through its apps|url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/24/facebook-accused-of-conducting-mass-surveillance-through-its-apps|access-date=October 9, 2020|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en|last1=Cadwalladr|first1=Carole|last2=Graham-Harrison|first2=v|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114003235/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/24/facebook-accused-of-conducting-mass-surveillance-through-its-apps|url-status=live}}</ref> The company has also been subject to criticism over its psychological effects such as [[Problematic social media use|addiction]] and low [[self-esteem]], and over content such as [[fake news]], [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]], [[copyright infringement]], and [[hate speech]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/21/quit-facebook-privacy-scandal-private-messages|title=Is 2019 the year you should finally quit Facebook?|first=Arwa|last=Mahdawi|date=December 21, 2018|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=January 24, 2019|archive-date=May 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528063824/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/21/quit-facebook-privacy-scandal-private-messages|url-status=live}}</ref> Commentators have accused Facebook of willingly facilitating the spread of such content, as well as exaggerating its number of users to appeal to advertisers.<ref name=useradappeal>{{cite news|url=https://www.theregister.com/2018/08/17/facebook_ad_reach_lawsuit/#:~:text='Made%2Dup%20PR%20numbers',to%20exaggerate%20online%20advertising%20audience&text=Facebook%20brags%20it%20has%20a,than%201.27bn%20fake%20accounts.|title=Facebook flat-out 'lies' about how many people can see its ads – lawsuit|first=Thomas|last=Claburn|publisher=The Register|date=August 17, 2018|access-date=November 18, 2020|archive-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907062047/https://www.theregister.com/2018/08/17/facebook_ad_reach_lawsuit/#:~:text='Made%2Dup%20PR%20numbers',to%20exaggerate%20online%20advertising%20audience&text=Facebook%20brags%20it%20has%20a,than%201.27bn%20fake%20accounts.|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Toclimit|3}}

== <span class="anchor" id="Thefacebook"></span> History ==
{{main|History of Facebook}}
[[File:MarkZuckerberg-crop.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mark Zuckerberg]], co-creator of Facebook, in his [[Harvard University|Harvard]] [[dorm room]], November 2005]]

The history of Facebook traces its growth from a college networking site to a global [[social network]]ing service.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia|title=A brief history of Facebook|first=Sarah|last=Phillips|newspaper=The Guardian |date=July 25, 2007}}</ref>

While attending [[Phillips Exeter]] in the early 2000s, Zuckerberg met Kris Tillery. Tillery, a one-time project collaborator with Zuckerberg, would create a school-based social networking project called Photo Address Book. Photo Address Book was a digital [[face book]], created through a linked [[database]] composed of student information derived from the official records of the Exeter Student Council. The [[database]] contained linkages such as name, dorm-specific landline numbers, and student [[Head shot|headshots]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Levy |first=Steven |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/551043/facebook-by-steven-levy/ |title=Facebook: The Inside Story |date=2020 |publisher=Penguin Random House |location=New York City, New York |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251003203055/https://www.smry.ai/proxy?url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/551043/facebook-by-steven-levy |archive-date=October 3, 2025}}</ref>

Mark Zuckerberg built a website called "Facemash" in 2003 while attending [[Harvard University]]. The site was comparable to [[Hot or Not]] and used photos from online [[face book]]s, asking users to choose the 'hotter' person".<ref name="Harvard Crimson on Facemash">{{cite web|first=Katharine A. |last=Kaplan |title=Facemash Creator Survives Ad Board |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/11/19/facemash-creator-survives-ad-board-the/ |website=[[The Harvard Crimson]] |date=November 19, 2003 |access-date=June 24, 2017 |archive-date=May 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504172812/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/11/19/facemash-creator-survives-ad-board-the/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Zuckerberg was reported and faced [[Expulsion (education)|expulsion]], but the charges were dropped.<ref name="Harvard Crimson on Facemash" />

A "[[face book]]" is a student [[Directory service|directory]] featuring photos and personal information. In January 2004, Zuckerberg coded a new site known as "TheFacebook", stating, "It is clear that the technology needed to create a centralized Website is readily available ... the benefits are many." Zuckerberg met with Harvard student [[Eduardo Saverin]], and each agreed to invest $1,000.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Claire|last=Hoffman|title=The Battle For Facebook|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-battle-for-facebook-20100915|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|publisher=Wenner Media|date=September 15, 2010|access-date=July 4, 2017|archive-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226015320/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-battle-for-facebook-242989/}}</ref> On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched "TheFacebook".<ref>{{cite news|first=Lily|last=Rothman|title=Happy Birthday, Facebook|url=https://time.com/3686124/happy-birthday-facebook/|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=February 4, 2015|access-date=July 4, 2017|archive-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226015300/http://time.com/3686124/happy-birthday-facebook/%20/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Membership was initially restricted to students of [[Harvard College]]. [[Dustin Moskovitz]], [[Andrew McCollum]], and [[Chris Hughes]] joined Zuckerberg to help manage the growth of the site.<ref>{{cite web|first=Matt|last=Weinberger|title=33 photos of Facebook's rise from a Harvard dorm room to world domination|url=http://nordic.businessinsider.com/facebook-history-photos-2016-9|website=[[Business Insider]]|publisher=Axel Springer SE|date=September 7, 2017|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226015226/https://nordic.businessinsider.com/facebook-history-photos-2016-9%20|url-status=live}}</ref> It became available successively to most universities in the US and [[Canada]].<ref>{{cite news|access-date=June 13, 2008|url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/09/11/facebook-opens-up-cx_rr_0911facebook.html|title=Open Facebook|work=[[Forbes]]|location=New York|date=September 11, 2006|author=Rosmarin, Rachel|archive-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323070616/https://www.forbes.com/2006/09/11/facebook-opens-up-cx_rr_0911facebook.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://tuftsdaily.com/archives/2004/04/12/online-network-created-by-harvard-students-flourishes/|title=Online network created by Harvard students flourishes|work=[[The Tufts Daily]]|first=Lananh|last=Nguyen|date=April 12, 2004|location=Medford, MA|access-date=November 30, 2018|archive-date=February 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214092755/https://tuftsdaily.com/archives/2004/04/12/online-network-created-by-harvard-students-flourishes/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2004, [[Napster]] co-founder [[Sean Parker]] became company president<ref name="NYT_260505">{{cite news|author=Rosen, Ellen|title=Student's Start-Up Draws Attention and $13 Million|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/business/26sbiz.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050529030744/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/business/26sbiz.html |archive-date=May 29, 2005 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 26, 2005|access-date=May 18, 2009}}</ref> and the company moved to [[Palo Alto, California]].<ref name="timeline">{{Cite press release|access-date=March 5, 2008|url=https://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?timeline|title=Company Timeline|publisher=Facebook|date=January 1, 2007|archive-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106103736/https://newsroom.fb.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[PayPal]] co-founder [[Peter Thiel]] gave Facebook its first investment.<ref name="beware">{{cite news|access-date=April 30, 2008|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/general/beware-facebook/2008/01/18/1200620184398.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2|title=Why you should beware of Facebook|work=The Age|location=Melbourne|date=January 20, 2008|archive-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226015255/https://www.theage.com.au/technology/why-you-should-beware-of-facebook-20080120-ge6mel.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Parker |first=Sean |date=April 16, 2015 |title=Reid Hoffman: The World's 100 Most Influential People |url=https://time.com/collection-post/3822665/reid-hoffman-2015-time-100/ |access-date=June 20, 2023 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |archive-date=October 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030194418/https://time.com/collection-post/3822665/reid-hoffman-2015-time-100/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2005, the company dropped "the" from its name after purchasing the [[domain name]] Facebook.com.<ref>{{cite web|first=Christopher|last=Williams|title=Facebook wins Manx battle for face-book.com|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/01/facebook_domain_dispute|website=The Register|publisher=Situation Publishing|date=October 1, 2007|access-date=March 23, 2017|archive-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226015246/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/01/facebook_domain_dispute%20|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2006, Facebook opened to everyone at least 13 years old with a valid [[email address]].<ref name="welcome">{{cite web|first=Carolyn|last=Abram|url=http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=2210227130|access-date=March 8, 2008|publisher=The Facebook Blog|title=Welcome to Facebook, everyone|date=September 26, 2006|archive-date=January 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111031027/https://newsroom.fb.com/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="tos">{{cite web|access-date=March 5, 2008|url=https://www.facebook.com/terms.php|title=Terms of Use|publisher=Facebook|date=November 15, 2007|archive-date=March 5, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305190936/http://www.facebook.com/terms.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2006/09/facebook-expansion-enables-more-people-to-connect-with-friends-in-a-trusted-environment/|title=Facebook Expansion Enables More People to Connect with Friends in a Trusted Environment|date=September 26, 2006|work=Facebook Ne

Facebook - Revision history