Facebook removes controversial app that pays teenagers for their iPhone data
Facebook has taken down a research app that paid volunteers aged as young as 13 to gain unfettered access to data on their mobile phone.
An investigation by Tech Crunch lifted the lid on the Facebook Research App, which bypassed the Apple App Store to seek out users via unofficial beta testing networks. The app paid users aged 13 to 35 up to $20 (£15.30) a month to gain access to data including private messages, emails, web browsing activity and location history.
The report alleged Facebook had even asked users to screenshot their Amazon order history.
Facebook said it removed the app from usage on iOS software several hours after the Tech Crunch investigation was published, however could not tell City PM whether it would be removing the app from Android.
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However a follow-up statement from Apple confirmed that it had been the one to discontinue use of the app: “We designed our Enterprise Developer Program solely for the internal distribution of apps within an organisation.”
“Facebook has been using their membership to distribute a data-collecting app to consumers, which is a clear breach of their agreement with Apple. Any developer using their enterprise certificates to distribute apps to consumers will have their certificates revoked, which is what we did in this case to protect our users and their data.”
Reports from The Verge also said Apple has banned Facebook from launching beta testing versions of any of its apps on iOS, including Whatsapp, Instagram and Facebook itself.
The app appeared to be a replica of Facebook's other market research app Onavo, which was banned by Apple last year. Though Facebook said the Research App was created two years before Onavo was taken down, analysis by Recode suggested the coding of the two apps were essentially the same.
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“Key facts about this market research program are being ignored,” said a Facebook spokesperson.
“Despite early reports, there was nothing 'secret' about this; it was literally called the Facebook Research App. It wasn't 'spying' as all of the people who signed up to participate went through a clear on-boarding process asking for their permission and were paid to participate.”
Facebook added that less than five percent of app's users were teens, which had all provided signed parental consent forms.
The news comes as Facebook prepares to publish its quarterly results later tonight, amid speculation that ailing user numbers are forcing the platform to come up with new ways to attract a young audience. Tech Crunch reported that this Research App could have been one of those methods.