Facebook Parent Company Meta Exploring Decentralized App: Report

Meta Platforms (META), the parent company of Facebook, is working on a decentralized text-based app, according to a report by TechCrunch on Friday.

The app will be a standalone product for sharing text updates, according to the report, which cited a Meta spokesperson. The news was first reported by Indian business news site MoneyControl.

"We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests," a Meta spokesperson said, according to the report.

The app, whose code name is P92, is still under development. It will allow users to log on using their credentials for Instagram, the photo-sharing social-media site also owned by Meta. It will support the ActivityPub protocol, which is also supported by Mastodon, a decentralized social-media platform that gained traction following billionaire Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, the report said.

Mark Zuckerberg's social-media empire changed its corporate name to Meta Platforms from Facebook in 2021, seemingly reflecting its Web3-related ambitions, particularly around the metaverse. The company's metaverse division incurred losses of $13.7 billion in 2022.

Shares of Meta were little changed at $182.21 in premarket trading.

Meta didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: Decentralized Social Media – Has the Moment Come?

UPDATE (March 10, 09:39 UTC): Adds detail and background throughout.