Apple prevents Facebook from offering research app that could monitor online activity

Apple announced that Facebook violated an agreement by distributing a data-collecting app to consumers, bypassing Apple’s normal review for an app intended for the public. Apple said it is cutting off Facebook’s ability to offer the app to consumers. The announcement comes after the revelation that Facebook has been paying some users (aged 13-35) $20 per month to install a research app on their phones that can collect intimate information about their online behavior and communications.

Apple’s developer program allows companies to create their own apps for employees, giving them a way to test and use apps outside of the app store, which are not subject to the same privacy and data policies as those intended for public consumption. But Facebook used this process to sidestep the app store and offer a research app directly to consumers, which Apple has ruled is a breach of the agreement.