Facebook celebrates 15th anniversary with milestone timeline

Since launching in 2004, Facebook has become one of the world's most crucial social media platforms, transformed the way we interact with loved ones, and even how we react to news, natural disasters, and political unrest. It has also become one of the essential touchpoints for brands building an online presence.To celebrate 15 years of stealing time from our workdays, Facebook has released its global milestones for its lifespan, including some highlights for APAC. Global2004Thefacebook.com is launched to connect college students.The Wall gives people a place to post messages to their friends.2005Photos tool gives people a way to share moments and tag their friends.2006Available to everyone as it expands registration.News Feed was launched to help people see what their friends are up to.2007Pages tool gives people a way to connect to the things they're interested in.2008Facebook Chat helps people communicate in real time.2009The like button for Facebook was introduced.2010Groups were relaunched to help people build communities.2011Timeline gives people a new way to tell their story.Messenger launched a mobile app to connect people on the go.2012Instagram joined Facebook.Facebook reached one billion users.2013Internet.org was launched to connect the two-thirds of the world not yet online.2014WhatsApp and Oculus joined Facebook, Satefy check was launched to gives people a way to let friends know they’re safe.2015Live was invented - bringing people together through real-time video.2016Reactions were created to give people more ways to show how they feel about a post.Marketplace and Fundraisers were launched.2017Reached two billion users, Watch was launched.2018Portal was launched.Tripled the size of the safety and security team, and cracked down on misinformation and fake accounts. In APAC2009First Facebook office in Asia-Pacific opens in Sydney, Australia.2011The idea for Safety Check was born during the Great East Japan Earthquake. A Japanese Facebook engineer saw what was happening and wanted to find a way to help.2014Safety Check was used for the first time following Typhoon Ruby in the Philippines and has since been activated over 1,400 times around the world.Australia was the second most engaged country for the Ice Bucket Challenge globally on Facebook.2015South Korea was the first country in Asia-Pacific to launch Amber Alerts - a tool that delivers missing children reports into News Feeds.2016In Malaysia, a missing eight-year-old girl was found when a member of the Facebook community sees the Amber Alert and flags her whereabouts to the police.WhatsApp launched video calling in India before rolling it out globally. India has the world's most WhatsApp users at 160 million monthly active users.2017Facebook creates Marketplace after seeing how people in countries like Indonesia buy and sell used goods in their communities on Facebook.In Thailand, people can also find properties to rent on Marketplace.The world's largest InstaMeet takes place in Jakarta, with over 1000 Instagrammers coming together offline to meet friends and make new connections.2018Facebook announces that its first custom-built data centre in Asia will be located in Singapore. The 170,000 square meter data centre represents an investment of more than USD one billion.Facebook built its first community hub in the world in Indonesia. Ruang Komunal Indonesia is a physical space for non-governmental partners and communities to gather, collaborate and build meaningful connections.