Facebook rebrands internet.org, now calls it Free Basics

Free Basics is the new name for Facebooks’s Internet.Org’s app and mobile website--that will allow more than one billion people accessing internet.org’s free basic services across Asia, Africa and Latin America will now be able to access more free services.

Free Basics by Facebook.

Free Basics is the new name for Facebooks's Internet.org's app and mobile website--that will allow more than one billion people accessing internet.org's free basic services across Asia, Africa and Latin America will now be able to access more free services.

Free Basics by Facebook to distinguish the Internet.org's initiative from the programs and services.

"We've listened to feedback from the community and made three big changes…connectivity isn't an end in itself. It's what people do with it that matters -- like raising a healthy family. We hope the improvements we've made today help even more people get connected -- so that our whole global community can benefit together," Mark Zuckerberg founder and CEO Facebook posted on his page.

People using the app or mobile web version can navigate to a menu where they can select the services to add to their list of free services. They can also search for a service by name or description, a company statement stated.

Three main changes have been made in Freee Basics: First, it has opened up the Internet.org platform. Any developer can now include their services in internet.org This gives people the power to choose what apps they want to use.

Second, it claims to have improved the security and privacy of Internet.org "We already encrypt information everywhere possible, and starting today Internet.org also supports secure HTTPS web services as well," said Zuckerberg in his post.

Third, they have changed the name of the app providing these free basic services to "Free Basics".

Face book had introduced this platform in May this year, for developers to easily create services that integrate with Internet.org and a way to give people more choice and control over the services they access.

More than 60 new services are available across the 19 countries where free basic services are available over Internet.org. Not only does this expand the range of resources available to people, it gives them more choice and control over the services they can use in the app and website.

The program is making an impact on people's lives by providing free health, education, and economic information, a statement from Facebook stated.

This is Asif Mujhawar, a soybean farmer from rural Maharashtra, India. He has two daughters, and says he makes better...

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on  Thursday, September 24, 2015