This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this folio. Terms of use.

579067-facebook-privacy

It's Wednesday, and so that must mean Facebook is in hot water yet once again after taking a laissez-faire attitude toward privacy. This fourth dimension, Facebook was defenseless running a shady "research" program that paid teenagers and adults to install a VPN monitor on their phones, piping all their browsing data dorsum to Facebook for assay. The program wasn't merely sketchy — it also blatantly violated Apple'due south developer guidelines. In response, Apple has nuked all of Facebook's internal iOS apps.

The Facebook Research program came to light yesterday, merely it was something of an open secret. Since 2016, Facebook had used marketing firms like uTest and Applause to recruit people anile thirteen-35 to install its Facebook Research app. Participants were paid $20 per month along with referral bonuses.

Anyone who digs into the FAQ would see that the research app tracks app and internet usage, only the marketing firms didn't mention Facebook'south involvement. The program was available on both iOS and Android, but the mode Facebook distributed the iOS app has gotten it in deep problem.

Apple's iOS platform restricts apps more than Android, and so Facebook used Apple tree's enterprise program to distribute its tracking software. This plan is intended for companies to install internal apps and beta versions on employee devices via special iOS certificates. Apple is non pleased that Facebook used this plan to ship powerful apps to users, and Facebook's determination to pull the inquiry app isn't enough to satisfy Apple.

According to new reports, Apple just revoked Facebook's enterprise program certificates. That ways Facebook can't distribute any new internal iOS apps, and the apps people already have installed won't work. Information leaking out of Facebook paints an image of a company in turmoil as apps the employees rely on have just stopped working. Engineers testing experimental apps are unable to proceed their work, and unproblematic things similar Facebook's app-based lunch carte du jour and transit apps are expressionless.

Facebook has stopped running its enquiry program on iOS only says the Android version will go along. Different iOS, Android supports sideloading apps, so it doesn't need to use Google's tools to distribute the app. Equally a upshot, retaliation on the Android side isn't likely.

Apple and Facebook have had an increasingly contentious relationship — this isn't the starting time time Facebook used the App Store in violation of policies. Its Onavo VPN app got canned last year following allegations it snooped on users. Disabling Facebook'southward apps is a major escalation of tensions, though. It's unclear if Apple tree will rescind the ban, but I'd judge it volition dorsum off after Facebook twists in the wind for a while.

Now read:

  • Facebook Is Probably Tracking Your Location Even If You Tried to Stop It
  • Facebook Might Take Leaked Your Private Photos
  • Facebook Used Its VPN to Spy on Other Companies, Users