Zuckerberg’s ‘big project’ forces two top deputies to quit Facebook

Two of Facebook’s top executives — one regarded as the company’s No. 3, and the other the head of its WhatsApp messaging service — are leaving after disagreements with Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive, over the social network’s future direction.

The differences stemmed from Zuckerberg’s asserting control over his company and its apps — Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger — by rolling out a plan to integrate the services into a single privacy-focused platform, according to six people involved in the situation.

The change is a substantial shift for Facebook, which has traditionally encouraged people to publicly share posts, videos and photos. Executives at Facebook who had run the