I suspect purchases such as whatsapp to Facebook were less about opening up new revenue streams, and more about locking in potential competitors. Not everybody

I suspect purchases such as whatsapp to Facebook were less about opening up new revenue streams, and more about locking in potential competitors. Not everybody uses their Facebook account but they may be more prolific on Instagram. They might not like being constantly monitored by Facebook Messenger but even with WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption, Facebook is still provided with valuable metadata, and the more diverse data sources, the more metadata resembles regular, easily interpretable data. It's like Microsoft buying LinkedIn: the market was clearly bearish on the company, but a tech Titan like Microsoft has a lot to gain by keeping its finger on the pulse of potential hires around the world - with a crucial head-start before headhunters can find star performers.