UK Edition
Facebook's relentless quest expand into every area of life has finally come full circle as it experiments with a new product designed exclusively for students.
The social media giant, which began at Harvard University as a students-only service called "TheFacebook", has reportedly been working on a service called Campus, described as "an exclusive space" for members of certain institutions.
Jane Manchun Wong, a security engineer who probes major apps to discover unannounced new features, posted what she said was a screenshot of the service from her Twitter feed on Thursday.
The screenshot shows a sign-up page inviting users to add their year of graduation, the subjects of their degree and their dormitory.
Its instructions read: "Campus is an exclusive space for only you and the students in your college community. Your college email gives you access to Campus groups, events and more.
The service could be a source of nostalgia for Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who founded it in his dorm room in 2004 as a digital version of his university's "face book", or student directory.
At first only Harvard students could join, but TheFacebook soon expanded to other Ivy League universities such as Yale, Columbia and Stanford. It reached British universities in October 2005, high schools in 2005 and lifted all institutional restrictions in September 2006.
The return to Facebook's roots prompted amusement on social media, with one user commenting: "And when Zuckerberg saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more apps to conquer."
Facebook itself declined to either confirm or deny the project, saying: “We’re always working to improve the Facebook experience for students, but have nothing to announce at this time.”
However, a spokeswoman did hint that the company is well aware of the symbolism. Her statement was signed "a spokesperson from TheFacebook".