Snap CEO Evan Spiegel took a playful jab at Meta’s history of replicating Snapchat’s features by updating his LinkedIn title to “VP Product @ Meta.”
The move appeared to reference Meta’s well-documented pattern of adopting innovations first introduced by its competitors, particularly Snapchat.
Spiegel’s updated LinkedIn description now reads: “Loving husband, father of four boys, VP Product @ Meta,” an apparent nod to the tech giant’s history of launching features that closely resemble those pioneered by Snapchat. Meta, which previously attempted to acquire Snapchat in 2013 with a reported $3 billion offer, has since introduced several features similar to those of Spiegel’s company.
One of the most notable instances of Meta’s imitation occurred in 2016 when Instagram launched “Stories,” a feature allowing users to post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. The concept originated with Snapchat in 2013 and became one of its signature offerings. Meta subsequently rolled out Stories across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.
Beyond Stories, Meta’s platforms have also integrated other Snapchat-inspired features, such as disappearing direct messages and augmented reality filters that alter users’ appearances. Spiegel has addressed this trend in the past, remarking at a 2018 conference that creating something “so simple and so elegant that the only thing competitors can do is copy it exactly” was the highest form of flattery.
However, he also expressed a wish that Meta would replicate more than just features. “We would really appreciate it if they would copy our data protection practices also,” Spiegel quipped at the time.
Neither Meta nor Snapchat immediately responded to Fortune’s request for comment on Spiegel’s latest LinkedIn update. Historically, Meta executives have been unapologetic about drawing inspiration from competitors. Former Instagram VP of Product Kevin Weil defended the practice in 2017, arguing that “good ideas start in one place, and they spread across the entire industry.”
Despite acknowledging Snapchat’s innovation, former Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom admitted in a TechCrunch interview that the credit for Stories rightfully belonged to Spiegel’s company.
