When Did Facebook Start?

Facebook Launched on February 4, 2004

Facebook — originally called "TheFacebook" — launched on February 4, 2004. Mark Zuckerberg built the first version from his dorm room at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The site was initially restricted to Harvard students. Within 24 hours, over 1,200 Harvard students had signed up. Within a month, half of the undergraduate student body had profiles.

Who Founded Facebook?

Facebook was founded by five people, though Mark Zuckerberg is the most well-known:

• Mark Zuckerberg: Primary founder and programmer. He coded the first version of Facebook. Still CEO of Meta Platforms in 2026.
• Eduardo Saverin: Co-founder and initial CFO who provided the early funding ($19,000). His ownership share was later diluted, leading to a lawsuit settled in 2009.
• Andrew McCollum: Co-founder who designed the original Facebook logo and worked on the site early architecture.
• Dustin Moskovitz: Co-founder and early CTO. Later left to found Asana. Was Zuckerberg roommate at Harvard.
• Chris Hughes: Co-founder who worked on the user experience. Later became an activist and briefly owned The New Republic.

The Early Days (2004-2006)

Facebook growth in its first two years was explosive:

• February 2004: Launches at Harvard. "TheFacebook.com" goes live.
• March 2004: Expands to Stanford, Columbia, and Yale.
• June 2004: Moves headquarters to Palo Alto, California. Sean Parker (Napster co-founder) becomes president.
• December 2004: Reaches 1 million active users.
• August 2005: Drops "The" and becomes simply "Facebook." Buys the domain facebook.com for $200,000.
• September 2006: Opens to everyone aged 13 and older. No longer requires a college email address.

Explosive Growth (2007-2012)

Facebook went from college network to global platform:

• 2007: Facebook Platform launches, allowing third-party apps. This gave rise to FarmVille and social gaming. 50 million active users.
• 2008: Facebook passes MySpace as the most popular social network. Reaches 100 million users.
• 2009: Introduces the "Like" button — one of the most iconic features in social media history.
• 2010: Reaches 500 million users. "The Social Network" film releases, dramatizing Facebook founding.
• 2012 — IPO: Facebook goes public on May 18, 2012, at $38 per share, valuing the company at $104 billion. It was the largest tech IPO at the time.
• 2012 — Instagram: Acquires Instagram for $1 billion in April 2012. Widely considered one of the best acquisitions in tech history.

Dominance and Controversy (2013-2020)

Facebook became the dominant social platform but faced growing criticism:

• 2014: Acquires WhatsApp for $19 billion and Oculus VR for $2 billion.
• 2015: Reaches 1.5 billion monthly active users. Facebook Lite launches for emerging markets.
• 2018 — Cambridge Analytica: Scandal reveals that data of 87 million users was harvested without consent for political advertising. Zuckerberg testifies before Congress.
• 2019: FTC fines Facebook $5 billion for privacy violations — the largest fine ever imposed on a tech company.
• 2020: Facebook reaches 2.8 billion monthly active users. COVID-19 drives massive increase in social media usage.

The Meta Era (2021-Present)

Facebook underwent its biggest transformation in October 2021:

• October 2021: Facebook, Inc. rebrands to Meta Platforms, Inc. The company shifts focus to the "metaverse" — virtual and augmented reality.
• Why the rebrand: Zuckerberg wanted to signal that the company was more than just Facebook. Meta also owns Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and Oculus/Quest VR.
• 2023: Threads launches as a Twitter/X competitor, reaching 100 million users in 5 days. Meta AI assistant integrated across all apps.
• 2024-2026: Meta stock recovers strongly after metaverse losses. AI becomes the new strategic priority, with Meta developing its Llama open-source AI models.
• Facebook today: The Facebook app still has over 3 billion monthly active users in 2026, making it the most used social network in the world.

Facebook by the Numbers (2026)

Here are the key stats for Facebook/Meta in 2026:

• Monthly active users: 3+ billion (Facebook app alone).
• Daily active users: 2+ billion.
• Annual revenue: Over $130 billion (Meta total, primarily from ads).
• Employees: Approximately 70,000.
• Market cap: Over $1.5 trillion.
• CEO: Mark Zuckerberg (since founding in 2004).

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