Dec 20, 2024 6:00 AM The past year has been filled with announcements about new smart glasses from companies big and small. Don’t expect the deluge to let up anytime soon.  ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHICS BY JAMES MARSHALL; WIRED STAFF; GETTY If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. [Learn more](https://www.wired.com/2015/11/affiliate-link-policy/). Please also consider [subscribing to WIRED](https://subscribe.wired.com/subscribe/splits/wired/WIR_SELF?source=HCL_WIR_EDIT_HARDCODED_0_COMMERCE_AFFILIATE_ZZ) 2024 was a big year for spatial computing, bookended by the release of two major virtual reality headsets: the powerful but expensive [Apple Vision Pro](https://www.wired.com/review/apple-vision-pro/) and the more affordable [Meta Quest 3S](https://www.wired.com/review/meta-quest-3s/). While these devices transport their users to vast, [strange](https://www.wired.com/story/meta-horizon-worlds-taken-over-by-children/) digital realms, they can also feel limiting, because they reduce—or even sever—the wearer’s connection to the real world. That’s where their lighter, more (um) wearable cousins come in: smart glasses. Turns out, lots of people like a device that you can take out of the house and onto the street. There’s an incredible convenience to interacting digitally with the real world at the same time you’re actually looking at it, all without obscuring your view with a bulky headset or distracting you with a phone screen. These more approachable face computers have come a long way since the days of the [Glasshole](https://www.wired.com/2013/12/glasshole/). Smart glasses—which I’ll loosely define here as internet-connected eyewear with apps built into them—have crossed the divide from an era of goofy, unappealing wearables like Google Glass into genuinely useful devices that you might not even be too ashamed to wear in public. [Ray-Ban Meta](https://www.wired.com/review/review-ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses/) is the big dog in the smart glasses pack. [Meta](https://www.wired.com/tag/meta/), a company whose reputation has been mired by its own often [problematic](https://www.wired.com/story/15-years-later-what-is-facebook/) uncoolness, has managed to leverage the long established cool factor of the Ray-Ban brand to make a range of smart glasses that people actually like. They look nice and have real functionality that many people can easily grasp and that [proponents](https://www.wired.com/story/the-ray-ban-meta-wayfarers-are-the-best-face-computer/) find incredibly useful. They can take photos and video, act as a headset for music and calls, and use voice features powered by Meta AI to send texts or ask about something in the world. New features [added this month](https://about.fb.com/news/2024/09/ray-ban-meta-glasses-new-ai-features-and-partner-integrations/) give the glasses the ability to do things like remember where you parked your car and use Shazam to figure out what song is playing near you. All this happens without a built-in display, which means you can keep your eyes on real life. The success of the Ray-Ban Meta frames has shown that there’s a market for display-free smart eyewear that doesn’t just work like VR-light. Smaller companies and startups have been barreling ahead with every kind of smart lens imaginable. This year alone, we’ve seen new smart glasses, or the technology to power them, from companies like [Oppo glasses](https://www.oppo.com/en/newsroom/press/oppo-unveils-new-oppo-air-glass-3/), [Swave](https://swave.io/spatial-computing/), and [Emteq](https://www.wired.com/story/emteq-smart-glasses-read-emotions-watch-what-you-eat/). Some were a little goofy and disappointing, like [Brilliant Labs’ Frames](https://9to5google.com/2024/05/31/brilliant-labs-frame-hands-on/) released in May. Others have yet to materialize, like glasses by the company [Looktech](https://www.looktech.ai/) that work with a variety of different chatbots and have been billed as [potential Meta Ray-Ban killers](https://www.yankodesign.com/2024/12/16/forget-meta-ray-bans-these-ai-smart-glasses-let-you-capture-the-world-without-stealing-your-data/) after the project recently exceeded its funding goal (by far) on [Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/looktech/looktech-smart-ai-glasses-and-hands-free-hd-camera). Display-driven AR glasses are still in the running, though. After all, a device that gives the wearer an active heads-up display or offers a window into the [mirrorworld](https://www.wired.com/story/mirrorworld-ar-next-big-tech-platform/) has long been considered the brass ring of spatial computing. Meta is pursuing this goal with its [Orion glasses](https://www.wired.com/story/meta-orion-glasses-augmented-reality-mark-zuckerberg/)—a pair of ambitious AR tech that, while still deep in the development process, aim to do just about everything your smartphone can do, but on your face. [Snap](https://www.wired.com/tag/snap/) is in a player here too, with cyberpunky [Spectacles](https://www.wired.com/story/snap-spectacles-2024-hands-on/) with apps that focus on social interactions for its younger, more playful users. Through the Glass ----------------- Another augmented reality leviathan has recently awakened. In early December, [Google](https://www.wired.com/tag/google/) announced the launch of its [Android XR](https://www.wired.com/story/google-android-xr-demo-smart-glasses-mixed-reality-headset-project-moohan/) software platform, which includes an upcoming pair of smart glasses with a display in the lenses. Google’s efforts are similarly a work in progress, but the company has an advantage due to the sheer magnitude of its developer partners who are already building on Android’s many platforms. Google’s glasses run Android apps, essentially taking a lot of stuff that currently lives on a smartphone—maps, texting, news feeds—and putting it directly in front of your eyeballs. “They're probably the closest of the big, tier one competitors that can ship something to compete with Meta,” says Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy. “Meta doesn't have a display yet. So they might even beat Meta to shipping one with a display.” The AR nerd trophy is still a long way off. Full-fledged augmented glasses are [very difficult](https://www.wired.com/story/why-augmented-reality-glasses-look-so-bad/) to make in a fashionable form. An array of issues come with trying to pack the computing power into the small frame, balance the thermal management so it doesn’t melt the skin off peoples’ ears, and find which optics can fit into which forms. “The minute you start trying to put displays in smart glasses, you enter a world of pain,” says Leo Gebbie, principal analyst at CCS Insights. “There is this absolute glut of challenges that emerge that require all sorts of inventive computing solutions. That’s where we still have some distance to go.” That distance has led some companies to scale back or abandon their AR ambitions. In October, Microsoft [discontinued](https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/1/24259369/microsoft-hololens-2-discontinuation-support) its HoloLens VR headset, a device that had been positioned as offering all the power of a desktop computer [right there on your face](https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-hololens-2-headset/). [Magic Leap](https://www.wired.com/tag/magic-leap/), another of the [old gods of VR](https://www.wired.com/2016/04/magic-leap-vr/), has also recently [ended support](https://www.magicleap.care/hc/en-us/articles/18878883445645-Magic-Leap-1-End-of-Life) for its first headset and laid off its sales and marketing teams in a pivot of some kind. The reigning XR titans—Meta, Google, Apple, Samsung, and Snap—aren’t in danger of going away quite yet. But they’re also not yet ready to deploy the life-changing tech they keep promising. Despite all the advances in this space, “We’re in this weird period where AR has kind of gone backwards a bit this year,” Gebbie says. Zoom In ------- That recalibration might make room for the smaller, more niche uses of smart glasses. Companies like [Form](https://www.formswim.com/products/smart-swim-goggles), which makes smart swim goggles that display the wearer’s swimming metrics right on screen. Or [XReal](https://www.xreal.com/us/), which focuses on mimicking a big screen display right on the lenses to let users feel like they’re watching media on a big screen. Companies like [Emteq](https://www.emteqlabs.com/) focus on medical or more holistic fields like psychotherapy and diet that aim to ([imperfectly](https://www.wired.com/story/emteq-smart-glasses-read-emotions-watch-what-you-eat/)) detect emotions and watch what you eat. “The devices that we’re left with right now aren’t the super advanced ones, or the ones that claim to be all-encompassing,” Gebbie says. “Those have kind of fizzled out. The things that are still standing and more active are the specific use case-driven headsets.” What’s less clear is how the smaller companies in the glasses game might navigate the many complexities of wearable computing without the [mind-boggling resources](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/metas-reality-check-inside-the-45-billion-cash-burn-at-reality-labs-125717347.html) of a company like Meta. Especially in the hardware space, bigger companies have a habit of buying up the smaller ones and folding them into their R&D labs. Smart swim goggles, say, might be a very nice use case that appeals to a specific user. But it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to stay afloat once Meta or Google start circling. “The successful AR and smart glasses companies all got acquired,” Sag says of the early days of XR tech. “So nothing really came to market because they were all gobbled up or they all ran out of money. That's the fundamental problem that we had. And if you look at the companies that got acquired, they all ended up getting acquired by Google and Meta and Apple and none of those products ever came out.” Glasses may not wind up being the end-all wearable for every bit of tech we want with us at all times, but the future is looking more and more like it will rest on our faces. Companies will keep churning out new glasses, breathlessly sharing their new, exciting, never-before-seen features that may fit one use case but not many. So keep your lens cleaner handy. Smart glasses will be in your face—if not on it—all year long. * * * #### Page 2 [Paris Martineau](https://www.wired.com/author/paris-martineau/) [Louise Matsakis](https://www.wired.com/author/louise-matsakis/) Feb 6, 2019 7:00 AM The social network where one-third of humanity checks in at least once a month is also a marketplace, a satellite developer, and a maker of VR headsets. Fifteen years ago this week, Harvard student [Mark Zuckerberg](https://www.wired.com/story/inside-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-2-years-of-hell/) created TheFacebook.com, a social network for college students that looked a lot like Friendster or Myspace. The company moved from his dorm room to Silicon Valley a few months later, and began expanding to other universities. In the beginning, Zuckerberg didn’t take his role too seriously. His first [business card](https://www.wired.com/story/sex-beer-and-coding-inside-facebooks-wild-early-days/) notoriously read: “I’m CEO … bitch.” A decade and a half later, Facebook apps are used by [roughly a third](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/08/social-media-active-users-around-the-world.html) of the world’s people each month. The company has acquired or crushed most of its main competitors, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and [Snapchat](https://www.wired.com/story/copycat-how-facebook-tried-to-squash-snapchat/). It’s now equivalent to approximately seven Twitters in terms of [monthly active users](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/07/27/twitters-monthly-users-fell-by-million-second-quarter-following-purge-fake-suspicious-accounts/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ea51d5fc1528). Facebook is where [nearly half](https://www.wired.com/story/who-gets-news-from-social-media-sites/) of Americans get their news, the place where [millions of nonprofits](https://www.wired.com/story/nonprofits-facebook-get-hacked-need-help/) collect donations, a venue for [state-sponsored propaganda](https://www.wired.com/story/russian-facebook-ads-targeted-us-voters-before-2016-election/), and where people announce their engagements, babies, or [even divorces](https://theoutline.com/post/4539/how-to-announce-your-divorce-on-social-media?zd=1&zi=o2cco4vf). It is perhaps the largest repository of personal information about humankind to ever exist. Zuckerberg, meanwhile, still makes time to [allegedly stage photos](https://lifehacker.com/we-tried-mark-zuckerbergs-tricks-for-looking-taller-in-1797141373) so he looks [taller than he actually is](https://twitter.com/GrahamStarr/status/885343770031554560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E885343770031554560&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flifehacker.com%2Fajax%2Finset%2Fiframe%3Fid%3Dtwitter-885343770031554560%26autosize%3D1) and smoke [his own meats](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H34QpoJsmrw). Facebook isn’t just a social network and messaging platform powered by advertisements; it’s also a marketplace for [secondhand goods](https://www.wired.com/2016/10/facebook-marketplace/), a [virtual reality headset](https://www.wired.com/2014/05/oculus-rift-4/) manufacturer, a [VPN company](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-research-app-root-certificate/), and a [satellite developer](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-research-app-root-certificate/). The company has lured some of the [most talented](https://www.wired.com/2014/08/deep-learning-yann-lecun/) artificial intelligence researchers and developed one of the [most powerful](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-will-find-your-face-even-when-its-not-tagged/) facial recognition algorithms. It has swallowed more than 70 companies, most which made technical software, [according](https://www.crunchbase.com/search/acquisitions/field/organizations/num_acquisitions/facebook) to the investment site Crunchbase. Facebook is also generating significant wealth for its 35,000-odd employees: The median salary in 2017 was more than [$240,000](https://www.wired.com/story/who-pays-the-most-and-least-in-silicon-valley/), though that figure excludes the company’s legions of contract workers. As Facebook turns 15, it’s confronting some of its biggest challenges yet, including a looming Federal Trade Commission [investigation](https://www.wired.com/story/ftc-facebook-data-privacy-investigation/) and potential federal [regulation](https://www.wired.com/story/privacy-law-showdown-congress-2019/) from Congress. To celebrate the milestone, we’re taking a comprehensive look at what Facebook has become. Here’s everything the social network has touched. Facebook did not respond to a request for comment. **Facebook the Platform** TheFacebook.com didn’t become **Facebook.com** until Zuckerberg [purchased](https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/01/facebook_domain_dispute/) the domain for $200,000 in 2005. The company wouldn’t acquire its shorter URL, **fb.com**, until 2011, when it bought it from, of all places, the [American Farm Bureau Federation](https://mashable.com/2011/01/11/facebook-paid-8-5-million-to-acquire-fb-com/#w.tQIpl9UEq2). The deal cost the social network $8.5 million. The year before that acquisition, Facebook [snagged](http://gigaom.com/2010/08/04/facebook-buys-friendster-patents-for-40m/) the patents for Friendster, one of its early competitors, for an estimated $40 million. Originally, Facebook merely displayed individual profiles. But in September 2006, the company introduced the **News Feed**, prompting [widespread user backlash](https://techcrunch.com/2006/09/06/facebook-users-revolt-facebook-replies/) over privacy concerns. (Zuckerberg told users to “[Calm down. Breathe](https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/calm-down-breathe-we-hear-you/2208197130/)” the day after the feature was announced. Twenty-four hours later, he admitted that he had “[really messed this one up](https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/an-open-letter-from-mark-zuckerberg/2208562130/),” but the News Feed remained.) The same year, Facebook [introduced](https://mashable.com/2006/08/22/facebook-notes-facebook-adds-blogs/) the **Notes** feature, and like the rest of the internet, [began blogging](https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/welcome-to-the-facebook-blog/2207517130/?__tn__=HH-R). In early 2007, the company [launched](https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/facebook-your-phone/2228532130/?__tn__=HH-R) **Facebook Mobile,** allowing users to access the site on their phones; it’s now the [primary way](https://thenextweb.com/facebook/2016/01/27/90-of-facebooks-daily-and-monthly-active-users-access-it-via-mobile/) people use the social network. In 2008, the company [released](https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/facebook-for-iphone/22389032130/?__tn__=HH-R) an **iOS app** for the still-novel iPhone, which included location-sharing features for friend discovery and, eventually, targeted ads. In 2011, the company [launched](https://gigaom.com/2011/10/06/facebook-sim-card-uses-sms-gemalto/) **Facebook for SIM**, which let mobile users without a data plan access Facebook by paying for a subscription (the SIM cards are no longer available). Also in 2007, Facebook [created](https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/the-marketplace-is-open/2383962130/?__tn__=HH-R) **Marketplace**, a Craigslist-esque classified ads portal, which evolved several times before becoming the in-app feature available today. Around this time, the company released **Facebook Platform**, a set of tools and products for developers to make and adapt applications for the Facebook ecosystem. (By 2009, Zynga had become the [most prominent developer](https://www.wired.com/2014/05/zynga-games-for-good/) on Facebook, with millions of people playing its hit game [FarmVille](https://www.wired.com/2014/05/zynga-games-for-good/).) In May 2008, Facebook [launched](https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2008/05/09/announcing-facebook-connect/) **Facebook Connect**, which it described as “the next iteration of Facebook Platform.” The feature allowed users to sign in to other apps and sites using their Facebook credentials. Facebook boasted it would allow developers to add “social context” to their sites by showing users which friends had already made accounts. > Facebook is where nearly half of Americans get their news, the place where millions of nonprofits collect donations, and a venue for state-sponsored propaganda. In 2009, Facebook introduced perhaps its most iconic feature: the Like button. Facebook expanded on the Like in 2016, when it [introduced](https://www.wired.com/2016/02/facebook-reactions-totally-redesigned-like-button/) Reactions, including “wow,” “haha,” “sad,” “angry,” and “love.” (Since [nearly the beginning](https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/11/facebook-is-trying-to-make-the-poke-happen-again/) users have also had the ability to “Poke” each other.) In 2014, Facebook introduced **Facebook Safety Check**, a feature activated during disasters and mass attacks for people to let their family and friends know they’re safe. In 2016, the company released a [separate](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-local-the-only-facebook-app-you-need/) **Events** app and introduced **Facebook at Work** (later [renamed](https://www.wired.com/2016/10/facebook-workplace/) **Workplace**), a business communication platform similar to Slack. **Media and Gaming** **Facebook Photos** debuted in 2005. There were no limits to how many images users could upload, and it quickly became one of the site’s most popular features. **Facebook Video** arrived two years later, with the catchphrase “[Videos of your friends are interesting](https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/video-is-here/2500237130/).” In 2011, Facebook [partnered](https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240104971/Facebook-partners-with-Skype-to-add-video-calling-to-social-network-infrastructure) with Skype to develop a **Video Calling** feature. **Facebook Live** [launched](https://www.wired.com/2016/04/facebook-really-really-wants-broadcast-watch-live-video/) in 2015, initially only for verified users. Facebook later [paid news organizations](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/apr/06/facebook-live-video-paying-news-publishers-buzzfeed) to develop live content, including a famous BuzzFeed video of an [exploding watermelon](https://www.wired.com/2016/04/7-tv-shows-fewer-viewers-buzzfeeds-exploding-watermelon-video/). Facebook Live came under scrutiny after it was used [to livestream suicides and homicides](https://www.wired.com/2017/04/facebook-live-murder-steve-stephens/). Around the same time, Facebook [enabled](https://www.wired.com/2015/09/facebook-launches-360-video-immersive-star-wars-clip/) capability for **360 Degree Videos**. And by 2016, users were able to [upload and view](https://www.wired.com/2016/05/facebook-360-photos-oculus/) **360 Degree Photos**. Facebook’s pivot to video continued in 2017 with the [launch](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-watch-muscles-into-online-video/) of **Facebook Watch**, a video-on-demand service showcasing original content developed by partners, ranging from Refinery29 and Univision to Fox News. **Facebook Watch Party**, a [shared](https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/17/facebook-watch-party/) viewing experience for groups, debuted in early 2018. Later that year, Facebook [announced](https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/06/technology/facebook-news-watch/index.html) that **several news programs**, developed in partnership with outlets like CNN and BuzzFeed, would be available on Facebook Watch. Also in 2018, Facebook [launched](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/05/facebook-capitalizes-on-musical-ly-karaoke-trend-with-lip-sync-live.html) **Lip Sync Live**, a Facebook Live karaoke feature [reminiscent of TikTok](https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-musical-meme-machine-vine/), a similar app beloved by teens. The company also introduced a number of [other interactive video add-ons](https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/06/helping-creators-connect-create-and-grow/), such as **Polling** and **Gamification**. When it wasn’t combating privacy [scandals](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-scandals-2018/), Facebook spent much of last year attempting to lure gamers to its platform. The company obtained the [exclusive streaming rights](https://www.polygon.com/2018/1/18/16903872/esl-streaming-partnership-facebook-esl-one-pro-league-counter-strike-global-offensive-dota-2) for **multiple esports leagues from the federation ESL**. It then [rolled out](https://www.facebook.com/fbgaminghome/blog/introducing-the-facebook-gaming-creator-level-up-program) its **Gaming Creator Level Up Program**, which aims to attract popular livestreamers to Facebook Live—and away from [Amazon-owned Twitch](https://www.wired.com/story/why-hard-escape-amazons-long-reach/)—by helping them expand their followings, make money, and engage with fans. Facebook also [rolled out](https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/07/facebook-launches-fb-gg-gaming-video-hub-to-compete-with-twitch/) its own Twitch-style dedicated live-streaming site, **Fb.gg**, and began [offering](https://www.recode.net/2018/1/26/16934662/facebook-livestreaming-video-games-esports) some gaming influencers **money** for using the platform. Some of Facebook’s gaming partners can also participate in a Patreon-style **monthly subscription program for fans**, now [being tested](https://www.wired.com/story/youtube-creators-monetization/) by the company. Facebook also launched its own virtual currency, **Facebook Stars**, worth one cent each, for users to send to their favorite gamers as tips. (The company takes a cut of every Star purchased by users.) While it’s too soon to determine the fate of its various livestreaming ventures, Facebook has [recently faced accusations](https://www.revealnews.org/article/facebook-knowingly-duped-game-playing-kids-and-their-parents-out-of-money/) that in the past it encouraged children to spend large sums of money playing games without their parents’ permission. In 2015, Facebook launched **Instant Articles**, a [feature](https://www.wired.com/2015/05/instant-articles-facebook-shows-us-paper/) that allows users to read news articles from select websites without leaving the social network. After the 2016 US presidential election, when it was criticized for spreading misinformation, Facebook [began](https://www.wired.com/2016/12/facebook-gets-real-fighting-fake-news/) partnering with **outside fact-checking organizations** to combat misinformation. Around the same time, it [announced](https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/blog/introducing-the-facebook-journalism-project) the **Facebook Journalism Project** to foster partnerships with the media industry. **Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and More** Facebook’s [original messaging feature](https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/changes-part-2-of-3-inbox/2330052130/?__tn__=HH-R) was **Inbox**, a Facebookified email client where messages were linked in threads (real-time messaging was impossible). As the site matured, private messaging became increasingly important. In 2008, the company [launched](https://www.wired.com/2008/04/facebook-chat-launches-site-gets-even-noisier/) **Facebook Chat**, an instant messaging service similar to AIM and Gchat. In February 2011, Facebook acquired group messaging service **Beluga,** which it used to develop its standalone chat app **Messenger**, released [later that year](https://www.wired.com/2014/02/decade-facebooks-innovations/). In 2015, the company [added](https://www.wired.com/2015/03/can-now-send-money-facebook-whats/) a person-to-person **payment service** to Messenger. **Facebook Messenger Lite**, a [pared-down version of the app](https://www.wired.com/story/ditch-facebook-messenger/) designed for emerging markets, was released in 2016. A year later, Facebook launched **Messenger Kids**, which [targeted users](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-for-6-year-olds-welcome-to-messenger-kids/) as young as six. In 2012, Facebook paid $1 billion to [acquire](https://www.wired.com/2012/04/facebook-buys-instagram-2/) photo-sharing app **Instagram**, and has since rolled out additional features, including **Instagram Direct** messaging, disappearing **Instagram Stories**, and **IGTV**, a [video streaming service](https://www.wired.com/story/with-igtv-instagram-takes-aim-at-youtube/). Two years after buying Instagram, Facebook [shelled out](https://www.wired.com/2014/02/facebook-whatsapp/) $19 billion to purchase private messaging service **WhatsApp**, where it also [introduced](https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/01/whatsapp-stories/) Stories. The Snapchat-esque feature made its way to Facebook proper in 2018. It was [recently reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/technology/facebook-instagram-whatsapp-messenger.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fmike-isaac&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection) that Facebook plans to merge the [underlying messaging infrastructure](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-messenger-whatsapp-instagram-chat-combined-encryption-identity/) that powers WhatsApp, Instagram, Direct, and Facebook Messenger. Over the years, Facebook has acquired or built several apps and tools that bear a striking resemblance to its competitors. There’s the TikTok [clone](https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/09/lasso-facebook-app-store/) **Lasso**, for instance, as well as the cringe-worthy-named [meme app](https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/18/18188485/facebook-lol-meme-app-gifs-funny-videos) **LOL**. In 2018, the company rolled out **Collection**, a sharing tab similar to Pinterest. And it began testing **Dating**, a [feature](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-dating-how-it-works/) within its main app that works [similarly](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-dating-hinge-app/) to other dating services like Tinder and Bumble. (It’s not yet available in most regions.) **Advertising** When Zuckerberg [announced](https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2007/11/facebook-unveils-facebook-ads/) the launch of **Facebook Ads** and brand **Pages** in 2007, he [declared](https://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-warns-brands-scale-social-free/233105/) that “the next hundred years will be different for advertising, and it starts today.” He wasn’t wrong. Facebook makes most of its revenue---$55 billion last year---by charging marketers to target people based on the [information](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-ads-pew-survey/) it compiles about them. **Facebook IQ**, the company’s [digital research arm](https://www.facebook.com/business/insights), provides “powerful, actionable insights on consumer behavior, marketing and measurement.” The Intercept [reported](https://theintercept.com/2018/04/13/facebook-advertising-data-artificial-intelligence-ai/) that Facebook wants to use AI to predict how consumers will behave in the future. Also in 2007, Facebook launched **Facebook Social Ads** and **Facebook Beacon**. The latter sent information about users’ activity on other websites to Facebook for the purpose of ad targeting. Facebook Beacon quickly became the subject of a [privacy lawsuit](https://www.wired.com/2008/08/facebook-beacon/) and was retired in 2009. Facebook uses myriad other tools to track user activity on and off the web, including **Facebook Pixel**, a tracker [embedded on millions of websites](https://theoutline.com/post/4578/facebook-is-tracking-you-on-over-8-million-websites?zd=1&zi=tdvi2wye). In 2015, Facebook also [handed](https://www.recode.net/2015/6/8/11563370/facebook-is-handing-out-free-beacons-to-retailers) out free **Facebook Bluetooth Beacons** to businesses. The physical devices could monitor when a specific Facebook user visited their restaurant or store. Though the page for businesses to request beacons has since disappeared, Facebook [claims](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/1150627594978290) to offer advertisers a way to calculate store visits using “customers' Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signatures” and “satellite imagery and mapping data.” In 2012, Facebook [began displaying](https://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-start-placing-ads-user-news-feeds-january/231691/) advertisements as **Featured Posts** in the News Feed. Shortly after, the company [launched](https://techcrunch.com/2012/06/13/facebook-exchange/) the now-defunct **Facebook Exchange**, a marketplace for advertisers to bid on real-time ad placements. In 2018, the social network rolled out its own [influencer marketplace](https://www.facebook.com/creators/discover/introducing-brand-collabs-manager) called the **Brand Collabs Manager**. Around the same time, Facebook launched a **political ad tool**, which allows users to [view ads](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-aims-more-transparency-view-ads-feature/) from political advertisers. The change came after Facebook discovered Russian propagandists had purchased more than [3,500 ads](https://www.wired.com/story/house-democrats-release-3500-russia-linked-facebook-ads/) targeting Americans as part of a disinformation campaign around the 2016 US election. Ads created through Facebook’s **Ad Manager** app or platform can be shown to users on Facebook or Instagram as stories, in-line posts, or other ways. The company also has free marketing and business [courses](https://www.facebook.com/business/learn) available online as part of its **Facebook Blueprint** e-learning system. Wannabe marketers can even achieve **Facebook Blueprint Certification** if they want to truly “establish \[their\] Facebook marketing expertise.” **Connectivity** In 2013, Zuckerberg [announced](https://www.wired.com/story/what-happened-to-facebooks-grand-plan-to-wire-the-world/) Facebook wanted to help connect the 5 billion people who then lacked access to the internet, mostly in the developing world. He estimated the project would take five to 10 years. Facebook soon created **Internet.org**, a set of initiatives that included the **Connectivity Lab**, where researchers work to reach the not-yet-connected via drones, satellites, and [lasers](https://www.wired.com/2015/04/yael-maguire/). Through the lab, Facebook built **Aquila**, an enormous solar-powered drone designed to beam an internet connection back to Earth. It was [permanently grounded](https://code.fb.com/connectivity/high-altitude-connectivity-the-next-chapter/) in 2018, two years after its first public [test flights](https://www.wired.com/2016/07/facebooks-giant-internet-beaming-drone-finally-takes-flight/). The Connectivity Lab also experimented with **satellites**, including one designed to provide internet access to sub-Saharan Africa, which [blew up](https://slate.com/technology/2016/09/spacex-blew-up-facebooks-first-internet-satellite.html) on a SpaceX rocket in 2016. Last year, WIRED [reported](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-confirms-its-working-on-new-internet-satellite/) that Facebook was planning to launch a new satellite called **Athena** in 2019. The Connectivity Lab also worked to create [maps](https://code.fb.com/core-data/connecting-the-world-with-better-maps/) to [help understand](https://www.wired.com/2015/03/facebook-traffic-control/) where networks needed to be improved. And it developed **OpenCellular**, a device that can be [strapped](https://www.wired.com/2016/07/facebook-2/) to a tree or street lamp and function like a miniature cellular station, as well as **Terragraph** and **ARIES**, [wireless antennas](https://www.wired.com/2016/04/facebooks-massive-new-antennas-can-beam-internet-miles/) for improving internet access in both rural and urban areas. In 2015, the company created **Express Wi-Fi**, a [program](https://www.wired.com/2016/10/zuckerberg-in-africa/) where local businesses host routers that people nearby can use as internet hotspots. Internet.org’s most controversial access project is **Free Basics**, a program launched in 2013 that offers people in more than 60 countries free access to a limited suite of websites and apps, including, of course, Facebook. In 2016, Free Basics was [banned](https://www.wired.com/2016/02/facebooks-free-basics-app-is-now-banned-in-india/) in India as part of a ruling in support of net neutrality. Also that year, Facebook launched the **Telecom Infra Project**, a [partnership](https://www.wired.com/story/after-slurping-up-ai-researchers-facebook-offers-to-share/) with more than two dozen companies aimed at improving the underlying architecture that powers the internet. The initiative echoed the **Open Compute Project**, an open source initiative that Facebook [launched](https://www.wired.com/2015/03/facebook-got-even-apple-back-open-source-hardware/) in 2011 to remodel the hardware used inside computer data centers. To top it off, Facebook also owns [a number of](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/subsea-cables-google-facebook) **undersea internet cables**. **Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality** In 2014, Facebook paid $3 billion to buy **Oculus**, a [virtual reality company](https://www.wired.com/2016/03/oculus-design-virtual-reality/) that now makes three [types of headsets](https://www.wired.com/review/oculus-go/), **Oculus Rift**, **Oculus Go**, and **Gear VR**. (Coming soon is **Oculus Quest**, an [all-in-one gaming system](https://www.wired.com/story/oculus-quest-wireless-vr-headset/) that doesn’t need to be connected to a computer.) Together with Samsung, Oculus [released](https://www.wired.com/2015/11/review-samsung-gear-vr/) **Samsung Gear VR** in 2015. **Oculus Studios** publishes and funds VR games and experiences, while **Oculus Story Studio** focused on VR storytelling content before it shuttered in 2017. Also in 2017, Facebook [unveiled](https://www.wired.com/2017/04/facebook-unveils-two-new-vr-cameras-six-degrees-freedom/) two VR cameras designed to capture spherical video and [released](https://www.wired.com/2016/04/heres-360-degree-video-camera-facebook-giving-away/) the blueprints for them to the world via the coding site Github. In addition, Facebook introduced the **Camera Effects** platform, a [set of tools](https://www.wired.com/2017/04/facebooks-future-live-phone/) for developers to create augmented-reality apps. Around the same time, Facebook announced **Facebook Spaces**, a bizarre, [VR-version](https://www.wired.com/2017/04/facebook-spaces-vr-for-your-friends/) of the social network. This content can also be viewed on the site it [originates](https://twitter.com/SteveKopack/status/917510012070776832?s%5C=20) from. **Artificial Intelligence** Facebook has invested [considerable resources](https://www.wired.com/2017/02/inside-facebooks-ai-machine/) in its **Applied Machine Learning Group**, whose engineers help to automate many parts of its sprawling platform. The company’s **AI Research group** has attracted top scholars in the field and regularly publishes world-renowned [research](https://code.fb.com/ai-research/fair-fifth-anniversary/). AI now [helps](https://www.wired.com/story/instagram-anti-bullying-algorithm/) detect toxic comments on Instagram, determines which posts appear in your Facebook News Feed, and makes sponsored posts more “relevant.” The tech is also used to identify potentially offending posts for the social network’s thousands of content moderators. For example, the company uses an [algorithm](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-rosetta-ai-memes/) called **Rosetta** to analyze text in photos and videos, which can alert a moderator if it thinks a meme violates Facebook’s hate speech policies. Facebook also uses AI for more controversial purposes, like to determine whether [someone is suicidal](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-suicide/facebook-to-expand-artificial-intelligence-to-help-prevent-suicide-idUSKBN1DR1YT). In December 2010, Facebook [began using](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/12/facebook-will-start-using-facial-recognition-next-week/68121/) **facial recognition technology** to suggest who to tag in a photo. In 2014, the company said its **DeepFace** algorithm had become as accurate as humans at identifying faces. In 2017, it [expanded its facial recognition feature](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/19/571954455/facebook-expands-use-of-facial-recognition-to-id-users-in-photos) to alert users when an image of them is uploaded—even if they’re not tagged in it. Around the same time, Facebook said it was using photo-matching technology to halt [the spread of revenge porn](https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/04/using-technology-to-protect-intimate-images-and-help-build-a-safe-community/). Facebook has also used AI to build **automated chatbots**. In 2017, the company caused a panic when some news organizations [incorrectly reported](https://www.wired.com/story/facebooks-chatbots-will-not-take-over-the-world/) that its bots had begun talking to one another in their own language. In fact, Facebook’s researchers had set out to build bots that could negotiate with people, but instead the bots started talking gibberish. In 2018, Facebook’s AI researchers announced they had partnered with New York University to develop more efficient **diagnostic technology** that could significantly [speed up MRIs](https://code.fb.com/ai-research/facebook-and-nyu-school-of-medicine-launch-research-collaboration-to-improve-mri/). Facebook has also even [built AI](https://www.wired.com/2016/05/facebook-trying-create-ai-can-create-ai/) that **builds other AI**. **Consumer Hardware** In 2013, Facebook released the so-called **Facebook Phone**, also known as the [HTC First](https://www.wired.com/2013/04/htc-first-with-facebook-home/). The Android device came preloaded with **Facebook Home**, a software addition for the home and lock screens that [nudged the user](https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/facebook/) to post on Facebook more often. Despite much fanfare, the phone didn’t take off; at one point, AT&T [offered](https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/05/09/after-only-a-month-the-facebook-phone-is-down-to-99-cents/#1b76e5ee5daa) the device for just 99 cents. In October, Facebook tried again to break into hardware with **Facebook Portal**, a [smart home device with a camera](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-portal-smart-home-device/), which arrived as the company faced a number of privacy scandals. Facebook’s team of hardware designers reportedly also is working on a pair of **AR glasses**, that could come sometime in the [next few years](https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-moves-ar-glasses-team-reality-labs-2019-1). **Other Facebook Projects** In 2013, Facebook [purchased](https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/13/facebook-buys-mobile-analytics-company-onavo-and-finally-gets-its-office-in-israel/) **Onavo**, an [Israeli VPN maker](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-onavo-protect-vpn-privacy/), which it [reportedly used](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-research-app-root-certificate/) to gather data on popular emerging apps in order to copy or buy them. It also used tech from Onavo to build **Facebook Research**, an app where users are paid around $20 a month to share their data with the social network. Onavo and Facebook Research were [recently removed](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-research-app-lessons/) from iPhones for [violating](https://www.zdnet.com/article/facebook-removes-onavo-vpn-from-app-store-over-privacy-violations/) Apple’s privacy rules (they’re both still available on Android). Onavo also launched **Bolt**, an app that could lock _other_ applications using a pin code or fingerprint. Facebook later deleted it after the app [raised](https://gizmodo.com/facebook-launches-another-deceptive-security-app-design-1823650981) privacy concerns. Also in 2013, Facebook [waded](https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2013/12/donate-to-nonprofits-through-facebook/) into the nonprofit sector with Donate, a feature for contributing to nonprofits. It later added a [suite of tools](https://www.wired.com/story/nonprofits-facebook-get-hacked-need-help/) for charities; more than 1 million organizations now accept donations through the social network. Facebook [celebrates](https://www.theringer.com/tech/2017/12/7/16743104/facebook-social-good-initiative) its nonprofit work each year at the annual **Facebook Social Good Forum**. That’s where the company has introduced [several features](https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/11/facebook-social-good-forum/) designed to help facilitate blood donations. In 2018, the company [announced](https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/06/making-it-easier-to-donate-blood/) **Blood Donations on Facebook**, to make it easier to find places to donate in certain countries. In 2017, Facebook’s experimental unit **Building 8** announced plans to [create](https://www.wired.com/story/inside-the-race-to-build-a-brain-machine-interface/) a **device to read your thoughts**. The same group is also [working on](https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-building-8-prototype-device-lets-you-hear-through-skin-study-2018-10) an **armband to allow people to hear through their skin**. Building 8 researchers were [reportedly](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/05/facebook-building-8-explored-data-sharing-agreement-with-hospitals.html) planning to negotiate **data-sharing agreements with hospitals**, until the Cambridge Analytica [scandal](https://www.wired.com/amp-stories/cambridge-analytica-explainer/) came to light. The project was subsequently [scrapped](http://fortune.com/2018/04/06/facebook-medical-data-sharing-hospitals/). In addition, Facebook [runs](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-bug-bounty-biggest-payout/) a **Bug Bounty Program**, a [startup incubator](https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/17/facebook-to-open-startup-garage-at-station-f-in-paris/) in Paris called **Station F**, and a [career development site](https://learn.fb.com/) dubbed **Learn with Facebook**. The company also facilitates [digital skills training](https://newsroom.fb.com/news/category/community-boost/) for small businesses through its **Community Boost** program, and bought the popular publisher [analytics tool](https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/11/13594338/facebook-acquires-crowdtangle) **CrowdTangle** in 2016. There’s also **Jarvis**, Mark Zuckerberg’s [virtual assistant](https://www.businessinsider.com/how-mark-zuckerberg-personal-smart-home-assistant-jarvis-works-2016-12) who can help the CEO [eat plain white toast](https://boingboing.net/2018/04/03/mark-zuckerberg-eats-toast.html) whenever his heart desires. Facebook is also [reportedly](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-21/facebook-is-said-to-develop-stablecoin-for-whatsapp-transfers) developing a **cryptocurrency for WhatsApp** purchases. Facebook has made other advances in the crypto world. Last May, former head of Messenger David Marcus [shifted](https://www.facebook.com/davidm/posts/10160585531500195) to head a new project focused on leveraging **blockchain technology for Facebook**. Tuesday, the company [acquired the team behind](https://mashable.com/article/facebook-acquires-blockchain-team-chainspace/#kl5sESKYigqL) **Chainspace**, a blockchain startup. **The Graveyard** Many Facebook initiatives died, not unusual for a company trying to innovate in so many areas. Some of these projects were thinly veiled knockoffs of competitors, while others were quietly phased out amid privacy or other concerns. In 2009, Facebook [briefly experimented](https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/5/17176834/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-democracy-governance-vote-failure) with a **user governance structure**, where people could vote on [what policies](https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2009/02/facebook-opens-governance-of-service-and-policy-process-to-users/) the site adopted. But only a [tiny fraction](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/04/facebook-governance-vote-is-a-homework-assignment-no-one-did.html) of the platform’s then-200 million users participated, and the program was soon abandoned. Facebook [acquired](https://techcrunch.com/2012/05/18/facebook-acquires-karma/) social gifting app **Karma** in 2012, but soon after launched its own ecommerce [platform](https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/facebook-gifts-launches/), **Facebook Gifts**. After that [failed to take off](https://techcrunch.com/2014/07/29/an-obituary-for-facebook-gifts/), Facebook pivoted to the **Facebook Card**, a [mega-gift card](https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2013/01/introducing-the-facebook-card-a-new-type-of-gift-card/) that worked at a variety of physical retailers. A version of the Facebook Card technically still exists, but only for Facebook-related purchases. In 2014, Facebook [launched](https://techcrunch.com/2014/01/16/facebook-trending/) **Trending Topics** to display a selection of viral news stories. It was originally edited by human curators, who were accused of bias; the curators were replaced by an algorithm, which led to the [appearance](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/10/12/facebook-has-repeatedly-trended-fake-news-since-firing-its-human-editors/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.99bc04806ab3) of hoaxes and fake news stories. Facebook tried [reforming](https://www.wired.com/2017/01/facebook-reboots-trending-topics-fake-news-festers/) the feature, but eventually [shut it down](https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-killed-trending-topics/) last year. Over the years, Facebook has launched several Snapchat competitors, none of which have achieved mainstream success. There [was](https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/21/facebook-poke-app/) **Poke** in 2012, **Slingshot** and **Bolt** [in 2014](https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-has-officially-launched-its-new-photo-app-slingshot-2014-6) and **Lifestage,** which was [killed](https://thenextweb.com/apps/2017/08/09/facebooks-snapchat-style-lifestage-app-for-teens-is-dead/) in 2017. Also in 2014, the company launched **Facebook Paper**, a news-reading app that was basically Facebook’s version of [Pocket](https://www.pcworld.com/article/2030081/review-pocket-lets-you-shelve-items-to-read-and-watch-when-the-time-is-right.html); it was [shuttered](https://www.theverge.com/2016/6/30/12062124/facebook-paper-shutdown) in 2016. Facebook [also killed](https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/09/facebook-kills-groups-app/) its standalone **Groups app** soon after. When the anonymous gossip app [Sarahah](http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/07/what-is-sarahah-app.html) became a viral sensation among teens in 2017, Facebook bought its own gossip app, **tbh**, which it almost [immediately shut down](https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/03/technology/facebook-tbh-app-shut-down/index.html). At the same time, it shuttered the contact app **Hello** and the fitness app **Moves**, which it had acquired in 2014. Other abandoned Facebook endeavors include: a [virtual assistant](https://www.wired.com/story/facebooks-virtual-assistant-m-is-dead-so-are-chatbots/) in Messenger called **M**; [anonymous forum app](https://9to5mac.com/2015/12/07/facebook-creative-labs-shutdown/) **Rooms;** the **Notify** app to send notifications; an app called **I’m Voting** created in partnership with CNN; a Google Photos competitor called **Moments;** the **Facebook Lite** app; the **Facebook Credits** virtual currency; a Vine competitor called **Riff;** and, of course, the [media darling](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/26/facebook-wont-use-its-war-room-for-future-elections-report-says.html) known as Facebook’s **War Room**, built to help [monitor misinformation](https://www.wired.com/story/inside-facebooks-plan-to-safeguard-2018-election/) during the 2018 US midterm elections and Brazilian presidential election. _Do you know a part of Facebook we didn't list? Let the authors know at: [paris\[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and [louise\[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])._