Facebook Removes Spyware-Like App From Apple’s App Store

The ‘data privacy’ app violated Apple’s user privacy guidelines.

The data security app violated Apple’s privacy rules.

(Photo: iStock)

Facebook is removing a spyware-lke Onavo Protect application from Apple’s app store after the iPhone maker informed Facebook that the app violates its data collection policies, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the report, after several meetings among officials, Apple suggested that Facebook remove the app 'voluntarily', to which the social media giant agreed.

The price changes will reflect on app store in the coming days. 

In a statement to TechCrunch, Apple said:

We work hard to protect user privacy and data security throughout the Apple ecosystem. With the latest update to our guidelines, we made it explicitly clear that apps should not collect information about which other apps are installed on a user’s device for the purposes of analytics or advertising/marketing, and must make it clear what user data will be collected and how it will be used.

In an attempt to limit the data collection by developers, Apple has introduced new privacy rules as part of its app store guidelines. These guidelines were the ground for Apple to push the Facebook application away from the app store.

The Onavo Protect app was for users to keep themselves and their data safe. The app creates a VPN that diverts user’s traffic via a Facebook server.

The app, according to its description, is a way to keep yourself and your data safe. However, since it redirects traffic via a private server managed by Facebook, it (Facebook) is able to collect and analyse the user's activity beyond Facebook applications, 9to5Mac reported.

Although Facebook plans to remove the app from the app store anytime on Thursday, it has no plans to take it down from Google play store.

(With inputs from Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch and 9to5Mac)