// startup autopsy
Facebook Home
Facebook replaced your Android homescreen with Facebook. Users replaced it with the uninstall button.
marketfitSilent Shutdown
Quiet closure with no public announcement · Fatal mistake: Cover Feed replaced Android homescreen with constant Facebook feed — universally rated 1 star
// the model, blind
Evaluating only Facebook Home’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Unit economics as the #1 likely cause. Documented cause: No market fit.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Facebook Home project initiated internally at Facebook in January 2013, conceived as an Android launcher to replace the default home screen with a persistent Facebook experience called Cover Feed.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Mark Zuckerberg officially announced Facebook Home at a press event at Facebook HQ on April 4, 2013, alongside the HTC First smartphone priced at $99 on AT&T.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Facebook Home became available for download on the Google Play Store on April 12, 2013, initially compatible with select Android devices including the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III.
PIVOT
Within days of launch, Facebook Home accumulated a 2-star average rating on the Google Play Store, with users flooding reviews criticizing the intrusive Cover Feed and lack of privacy controls.
SHUTDOWN
AT&T slashed the price of the HTC First from $99 to $0.99 with a two-year contract in early May 2013 in a desperate attempt to clear unsold inventory, signaling catastrophic commercial failure.
CEO CHANGE
HTC officially discontinued the HTC First smartphone in May 2013, less than one month after its April 12 launch, with AT&T pulling it from shelves entirely.
SHUTDOWN
Facebook quietly abandoned active development of Facebook Home by June 2013, ceasing further updates and effectively shutting down the product just two months after its high-profile launch.