Facebook has put an end to the controversial purchase of the "Research App" application, which violated developer and had as its main goal to collect user data through volunteers' mobile phones!
These days, the company announced that the Facebook Research App will no longer be available for iOS users. On the other hand, the app will remain available for Android for the time being
How is the Research App?
For those who don't know, this particular application is not exactly used by Facebook users. In fact, users can install it in the first stage and then they can receive gift certificates worth $ 20, only if they grant full access to their mobile data to the people who control the application. It should be noted that users must be between the ages of 13 and 35. So after granting access, the application monitors the mobile and web activity and after collecting some research data, sends it to Facebook for research and marketing purposes.
Of course, this is not the first time we have heard that Facebook collects user data. It has been using services like Onavo Protect and VPN for the same purpose since 2013. Facebook uses the data to detect emerging competitors and then buy them. However, Apple considered that this particular application violates the App Store rules regarding data collection and forced its removal, even though the application requires users' consent.
The Research App requires users to install a custom root certificate, allowing Facebook to see users' private messages, emails, web searches, and browsing activity. This is essentially a violation of Apple's policy, which prohibits developers from installing certificates on customers' phones.
Facebook representatives immediately responded to Apple about the above move. In particular, they stated that this is not an application that spies on users, as they must first grant access to the application. Also, 5% of the people who chose to take part in the research program were teenagers, who had their parents' permission. According to Facebook, this is a completely legal application that does not aim to steal user data.
