Meta is updating Facebook's "identity system," which includes a new primary identity. It's basically the same as the last one, except for a darker blue and some subtle tweaks to the lowercase "f". You can see the new logo compared to the latest logo in the image at the top of this post.
Here's Meta's explanation of the changes in a Wednesday blog post:
Our intention was to create a bolder, more dynamic, and more lasting new look for the Facebook logo. As a key element of the app’s identity, each unique new enhancement brings greater harmony to the entire design. To do this, we incorporated Facebook’s core blue into a more confident expression, making it more visually accessible within the app and giving the “f” stronger contrast to set it apart.
I really like the quote "more confident expression of Facebook's core blue". What this means is that the logo is a darker shade of blue!
It makes sense that Meta would only give the Facebook logo a slight tweak rather than a complete redesign. Meta says the platform has 2 billion daily active users, meaning any visual changes will be seen by a lot of people.
If you want a little history refresher, Meta's blog post also includes a short video documenting the logo's history, which I made into a GIF.
According to the blog post, Facebook's text logo has also been updated. "We redesigned the wordmark and logo using a custom font, Facebook Sans, to create a consistent treatment and improve Facebook's overall readability," said Meta. "Similar to the changes to the logo symbol, these improvements allowed us to build on the legacy of the company while creating a closer relationship between the wordmark and other fonts."
There's also a new hue being introduced that contains large areas of blue - Meta has also improved the look of "Reactions". "By expanding the color palette, we're able to evoke more dimension and emotion in Reactions," Facebook said. "We've adjusted the colors to comply with color accessibility guidelines, making our icons legible at any size, flexible to meet different needs, and easy for people to interact with."
Meta also plans more changes to Facebook's look. The company described Wednesday's update in a blog post as "the first phase of a new identity system" for the app, so keep an eye out for design tweaks in the future.