Free apps, paid attention
Meta Platforms Inc. owns free social apps — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger — used by billions of people who pay nothing to use them. What Meta effectively monetizes is their attention. Marketers pay to place ads in front of that audience as people scroll, and this advertising supplies nearly all of Meta's revenue and profit. Meta groups these apps into one segment called Family of Apps. A separate arm, Reality Labs, builds virtual-reality headsets and AI glasses; it earns very little and loses money while developing technology aimed at the next decade. One advertising business pays for everything, including a costly bet on future computing products.