Social network Facebook has announced the newest purchase of its recent spending spree in the form of Moves, a popular fitness app, for a considerably smaller fee than its other acquisitions, which include Virtual Reality enterprise Oculus VR.
Created by ProtoGeo Oy, a small company based in the Finnish capital Helsinki, Moves has the ability to trace distances that users have run, walked or cycled, and calculates the number of calories burned. The app also permits users to log their daily activities and maps out recent workouts.
The firm confirmed the deal on its blog, stating:
“We’re delighted to announce that Facebook has acquired our company and the Moves app.”
The social media giant informed online news providers that the fitness service will remain independent and continue to function as a separate service. The firm said:
“As part of Facebook’s multi-app strategy, we’re excited to announce that the popular Moves app will be joining Facebook’s suite of applications.”
As part of the acquisition, some of ProtoGeo Oy’s key employees will start working from Facebook’s headquarters at Menlo Park in California.
This move is the latest in a string of deals involving apps that will remain independent, including Facebook Messenger, recent high-profile purchase WhatsApp, and photo-sharing service Instagram.
Thus far, since its release in January 2013 the Moves app, which is free to download, has racked up four million downloads and has been described by technology giant Apple as a “surprise hit”.
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