WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and other Facebook apps have started displaying the company’s new “Meta” brand on Android and iOS devices. The update comes a week after Facebook announced it was changing its company name to Meta. The name change aims to go beyond traditional social media and better reflect the company’s continued investment in an immersive experience called ‘metaverse’. Along with Facebook, Microsoft and other tech companies are moving towards developing their own metaverse-focused offerings. The Menlo Park, Calif., Company is keen to gain first-mover advantage with its rebranding, however.

First spotted on the latest beta versions of WhatsApp for Android and iOS devices last week, the Meta brand began appearing on the home screens of the latest versions of the WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook apps. The change comes in the wake of Facebook’s announcement last week to go with the Meta title.

It is not clear if there are any changes coming to Facebook apps as a result of the rebranding.

In 2019, Facebook started displaying its native brand on the WhatsApp and Instagram apps. This move was intended to highlight its ownership of both platforms.

Last week WhatsApp Head Will Cathcart announcement the deployment of the new brand image on the instant messaging application. The executive said the update was intended to recognize that WhatsApp’s parent company “is much more than Facebook.”

“This new name will make it easier for us to explain that you can share a status you posted to your friends on Facebook (the app), use the payment functionality provided by Meta (the company) or a service that remains to invent, ”Cathcart had said.

Facebook decided to go with the new name months after working on developing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a public letter that Meta will be about the metaverse where people can interact with each other virtually on the internet in an immersive way. However, he didn’t describe exactly what we could expect from the company in the near future.