Back in March, Facebook acquired face-swapping app MSQRD in a move that many industry publications viewed as an attempt to keep pace with Snapchat following its purchase of Looksery. As Apptopia data showed, MSQRD surged in popularity in the months prior to the acquistion, causing Facebook to take notice.
But so far the acquisition has had little impact.
MSQRD is still available for download in both the App Store and Google Play, surviving the fate of previous Facebook-acquired apps that were disbanded almost immediately. And according to Apptopia data, there has been no real movement in downloads or daily active users since the March 9th purchase date.
Still that can—and probably will—change. Facebook has a long history of app acquisitions, and as you’ll see, there’s almost always big things a’ coming.
The Living
Easily the most memorable of Facebook’s numerous app acquisitions, Instagram was purchased in 2012 for an astounding one billion dollars. Following the acquisition, there were smatterings of concern over changes in privacy policies, and just this past March, there were grumblings about changes to the way pictures were displayed (by viewer preference as opposed to chronologically), but for the most part, the photo-sharing giant has remained unfazed.
With consistent rankings in the top-10 on both Google Play and the App Store, Instagram routinely averages 70 million daily users. It’s undoubtedly Facebook’s biggest acquisitional success.
For the two-odd years since Facebook acquired Whatsapp, the messaging app has had few changes. Sure there was the integration of a Facebook login and the merger of Facebook friends into the contact list, but that was to be expected. Then this January came.
New features included the removal of an annual subscription fee and third-party advertisement, and the introduction of direct business-to-consumer messaging. It appears the alterations have been met with a collective shrug, as download rates and daily users have remained consistent since January.
Moves
Facebook acquired Moves, an exercise-tracking app, in 2014, and so far, the results have been mixed. App Store reviews are on the poorer side, with complaints about the switch from FourSquare location services to Facebook’s being prominent.
But on, the other hand, according to Apptopia data, the less-than-stellar reviews haven't appeared to have a major impact on downloads. The app still pulls in 189,000 daily download on average, with the vast majority originating from Europe. Perhaps Facebook's location services are a little bit better over there.
The Dead
Wallet and Pulp
Facebook's purchase of developer Acrylic in 2012 included apps Wallet and Pulp. Pulp was a popular RSS reader, while Wallet was a “secure personal database app,” which was more or less a precursor to things like Apple Play. At any rate, Facebook swiftly killed Wallet and Pulp, indicating they were only after the talent at Acrylic and not their existing apps.
TagTile
TagTile was a short-lived discount app in which users would tap their phones against in-store displays to get discounts and rewards. Facebook was more interested in the talent behind the app and not the app itself, so in 2012, they removed all traces of it from the App Store and Google Play.
LightBox
In another “acqui-hire,” Facebook purchased Lightbox in 2010 and soon after nixed his photo-sharing app.
The Repurposed
Beluga
Back in 2010, TechCrunch heralded Beluga as the best group-messaging app ever. Then Facebook bought it.
Since then, the technology has been incorporated into Facebook Messenger, and its been a wild success. As of this writing, Facebook Messenger ranks No.4 iOS and No. 2 on Google Play.
GoWalla
GoWalla was a location-based social network and app. It was acquired in 2012 and its technology repurposed towards Facebook’s location services.
Jibbigo
Jibbigo was an offline voice translator purchased by Facebook in 2013. It was immediately shut down. Presumably, the technology is used as part of Facebook’s current “See Translation” feature.
