After TechCrunch outed a Facebook app that was collecting data by circumventing the App Store, Apple blocked the company from running internal iOS apps.
Apple has had it up to here with Facebook. Following a report by TechCrunch Tuesday night that the company had circumvented the App Store to distribute a “research” app to users, Apple has revoked a developer license from the social media giant, effectively shutting down any iOS apps that haven’t already been approved for the App Store.
While the move won’t have an effect on your ability to post and message your friends using your iPhone, Facebook employees will certainly feel the repercussions. Without the developer certificate, Facebook’s internal iOS apps, which likely include beta versions of its consumer apps as well as company-specific resources, will no longer work. Apple hasn’t indicated whether this is a temporary ban or how it will monitor Facebook’s activities in the future, but it sends a clear message: Play by our rules or pay the price.
The app at the center of the controversy was revealed by TechCrunch Tuesday night. Called Facebook Research, the app is basically a virtual private network that opens a portal between Facebook and whomever is running it, which the company used to collect “all of a user’s phone and web activity,” according to the report. In return for unfettered access, Facebook paid users—which included children as young as 13—up to $20 per month.
Facebook has been running a “Research” app on iPhones for years right under Apple’s nose.
While the merits of the program can be debated, the nefarious method of delivery cannot.
