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Facebook will terminate its unpaid market research programs and will proactively remove its Onavo VPN application from the Google Play store following the TechCrunch investigation into the Onavo code used in a Facebook search application, which contains data on adolescents. L & # 39; Onavo Protect app will eventually be closed and will immediately stop collecting data from users for market research although it will continue to operate as a virtual private network in the short term to allow users to find a replacement.
Facebook has also stopped recruiting new users for the Facebook search app that still runs on Android but Apple has forced iOS to quit iOS after reporting its breach of Apple's business certificate program for employee-only apps. Existing studies on the Facebook Research application will continue to run.
Faced with suspicions about big tech giants and the imminent regulation leading to a more in-depth review of privacy practices, Facebook decided that it was not advisable to give users such a utility that a VPN in exchange for a discreet review of their use of other applications and mobile browsing data. . Instead, it will focus on paid programs where users explicitly understand what privacy they are giving up for direct financial compensation.
Onavo is presented as a way to "limit the use of background applications by applications and use a secure VPN network for your personal information," but he also said that he would collect "time spent using applications, mobile data and Wi-Fi used by application". , the websites you visit, as well as your country, your device, and the type of network. "A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the change and said," Market research helps companies create better products for their customers. " users. We are now focusing on rewards-based market research, which means we are going to end the Onavo program. "
Facebok acquired Onavo in 2013 for a reported $ 200 million amount to use its VPN application to collect data on what people were doing on their phones. This data revealed that WhatsApp was sending many more messages per day than Messenger, persuading Facebook to pay $ 19 billion to buy WhatsApp. Facebook then described Onavo as a way for users to reduce their data usage, block dangerous websites, protect their traffic from traffic monitoring, while Facebook analyzed this traffic itself. This information allowed him to discover new trends in mobile usage, monitor his competitors and determine which features or applications to copy. Cloning has become the core of Facebook's product strategy in recent years as Instagram's Instagram Stories become larger and larger.
But last year, privacy issues led Apple to ask Facebook to remove the Onavo VPN app from the App Store, although it continued to run on Google Play. But Facebook quietly reused the Onavo code for use in its Facebook search application found by TechCrunch that paid users aged 13 to 35 in the United States and India up to $ 20 in gift cards per month. to give him VPN access and root network allowing them to spy on all their mobile phones. The data.
Facebook managed the program in secret, masked by intermediate beta testing services such as Betabound and Applause. He only informed the users recruited with advertisements on Instagram, Snapchat and elsewhere that they joined a Facebook search program after they started their registration and signed non-disclosure agreements. Facebook asserted in a statement that "there was nothing" secret "about it," but that it had threatened to sue if users publicly discussed the program. research.
But Facebook's main problem was that its search application was abusing Apple's enterprise certificate program intended for employee-only applications and distributing the application outside of the company. This led Apple to ban the iOS search app and invalidate the Facebook certificate. This ended Facebook's internal iOS collaboration tools, pre-launch testing versions of its popular apps, and even its lunch menu and shuttle schedule for a 30-hour break, causing chaos in the offices of the company.
Prevent other scandals around Onavo and Facebook Research application and avoid Google intervening to forcibly block applications, Facebook removed Onavo from the Play Store and put an end to the recruitment of search testers. This is a somewhat surprising voluntary gesture, which shows perhaps that Facebook is finally in phase with the public perception of its shady practices. The company has often misinterpreted how users would react to product launches and privacy breaches, resulting in almost constant blunders and an uninterrupted cycle of information about its mistakes.
Without Onavo, Facebook would lose a powerful method of market research and its future initiatives would be more expensive. Facebook has organized dozens of newsgroups, surveys and other user feedback programs over the past decade to find out where it could improve or what innovations it could cooperate with. But given the vital importance of cloning and acquisitions such as WhatsApp and Instagram for Facebook's success, it's probably worth it to spend more gift cards and more closely monitor its research. Otherwise, Facebook could miss the next big thing that could upset him.
Hopefully Facebook will be less clandestine with its future market research programs. You have to get involved first, make sure that users understand the data they are giving up, stop looking for teenagers or at least check their parents' consent and avoid hiding sensitive information or data about friends. involuntary of a user.
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