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Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service company based in Menlo Park, California. Its website was launched on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg, along with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.
Facebook, Inc.
Facebook New Logo (2015).svg
Screenshot
Facebook user page (2014).jpg
Mark Zuckerberg's profile
Type of business
Public
Type of site
Social networking service
Available in
Multilingual (140)
Traded as
NASDAQ: FB (Class A)
NASDAQ-100 Component
S&P 100 Component
S&P 500 Component
Founded
February 4, 2004; 14 years ago
Headquarters
Menlo Park, California, United States of America
Coordinates
37.4848°N 122.1484°W
Area served
United States (2004–2005)
Worldwide, except blocking countries (2005–present)
Founder(s)
Mark Zuckerberg
Eduardo Saverin
Andrew McCollum
Dustin Moskovitz
Chris Hughes
Key people
Mark Zuckerberg
(Chairman and CEO)
Sheryl Sandberg
(COO)
Industry
Internet
Revenue
Increase US$40.653 billion (2017)[1]
Operating income
Increase US$20.203 billion (2017)[1]
Net income
Increase US$15.934 billion (2017)[1]
Total assets
Increase US$84.524 billion (2017)[1]
Total equity
Increase US$74.347 billion (2017)[1]
Employees
25,105 (December 31, 2017)[2]
Subsidiaries
Instagram
Messenger
WhatsApp
Oculus VR
tbh
Watch
Website
www.facebook.com or
www.fb.com
Alexa rank
Steady 3 (January 2018)[3]
Registration
Required
Users
Increase 2.2 billion monthly active users (January 2018)
Current status
Active
Written in
C++, PHP (as HHVM),[4] D[5]
The founders initially limited the website's membership to Harvard students. Later they expanded it to higher education institutions in the Boston area, the Ivy League schools, and Stanford University. Facebook gradually added support for students at various other universities, and eventually to high school students. Since 2006, anyone who claims to be at least 13 years old has been allowed to become a registered user of Facebook, though variations exist in this requirement, depending on local laws. The name comes from the face book directories often given to American university students. Facebook held its initial public offering (IPO) in February 2012, and began selling stock to the public three months later, reaching an original peak market capitalization of $104 billion, a new record. Facebook makes most of its revenue from advertisements that appear onscreen.
Facebook can be accessed from a large range of devices with Internet connectivity, such as desktop computers, laptops and tablet computers, and smartphones. After registering, users can create a customized profile indicating their name, occupation, schools attended and so on. Users can add other users as "friends", exchange messages, post status updates, share photos, videos and links, use various software applications ("apps"), and receive notifications of other users' activity. Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups organized by workplace, school, hobbies or other topics, and categorize their friends into lists such as "People From Work" or "Close Friends". Additionally, users can report or block unpleasant people.
Facebook has more than 2.2 billion monthly active users as of January 2018. Its popularity has led to prominent media coverage for the company, including significant scrutiny over privacy and the psychological effects it has on users. In recent years, the company has faced intense pressure over the amount of fake news, hate speech and depictions of violence prevalent on its services, all of which it is attempting to counteract