Facebook can no longer distribute an app that paid users to track their phone and web use, according to Apple.
TechCrunch originally reported that Facebook paid $20 a month to use the Facebook Research app. Facebook says this was done with permission but, as we know, they have a history of defining “permission” loosely and obscuring what data it collects. This makes for another blemish on Facebook’s track record on privacy and could welcome more regulatory scrutiny.
According to accusations by TechCrunch, Facebook sidestepped Apple’s app store and its tighter rules on privacy, and Apple says Facebook was using a distribution mechanism meant for company employees, not outsiders, so Apple has revoked that capability.
As of Wednesday, a disclosure form on Betabound, one of the services that distributed Facebook Research, informed prospective users that by installing the software, they are letting Facebook collect a range of data. This includes information on apps you have installed, when you use them and what you do on them. Information is also collected on how other people interact with users and their content within those apps, according to the disclosure.