Apple bought nearly all of the user's smartphone data for 2200 yen per month, Apple is blocking Facebook's in-house app

by Sara Kurfeß

Although it is a common procedure to use the official App Store to distribute applications on iOS, it is often the case that you want to use the application developed inside the company only inside the company. By registering with Apple's Apple Developer Enterprise Program , it will be possible to deliver in-house apps without going through the App Store, but Facebook blocks delivery of internal applications from Apple as a misuse of Facebook We are experiencing the situation that it will be done.

Apple blocks Facebook from running its internal iOS apps - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/30/18203551/apple-facebook-blocked-internal-ios-apps

We have stopped the distribution function of in-house apps that Apple has offered for Facebook. According to sources, every application (Facebook-made in-house application) that was distributed as an in-house application ranging from a test application of a major application such as Facebook · Instagram · Messenger to a beta application "dogfood" He seems to stop using it. The affected app is no longer launched on employee terminals, so it is treated as a serious issue inside Facebook's company.

The reason why Apple blocked Facebook's in-house apps is related to the application called "Facebook Research" that TechCrunch revealed on January 29, 2019 that its existence was revealed. As part of the market research, the Facebook Research application was recruiting program participants from 13 to 35 years old, especially for ads from Instagram and Snapchat, aged 13 to 17. Setting up VPN When you download the Facebook Research application, users can download almost all data on smartphones, including contents of web search, location information, messages exchanged via SNS, contents, photos, and movies sent by instant messaging application I will hand it to Facebook.

Will Strafach of security experts emphasized that Facebook had asked users to enable root access, although security experts do not know exactly what Facebook was getting data. It is. "This allows Facebook to have continuous access to the most sensitive data about you," Strafach commented. Up to 20 dollars (about 2200 yen) per month were to be paid by gift card to users who participated in the program.

Facebook caught paying teens for access to all of their personal data - Vox
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/1/30/18203803/facebook-research-vpn-minors-data-access-apple

Teens deserve more than $ 20 for giving all their phone data to Facebook - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/30/18202990/facebook-research-gift-cards-onavo-privacy

Facebook distributed this Facebook Research application as an internal application, not via the App Store. As the name implies, the internal application is a special application distribution method for the purpose of "only employees of the company use", but Facebook is a secret application for the user by Facebook Research application It has been distributed.

by Tim Bennett

Facebook argues against TechCrunch that the Facebook Research app does not violate Apple's terms, but Apple's statement to Recode states "The Facebook Research app obviously violated Apple's terms of service It is written that "Apple is strongly criticizing Facebook's actions. In addition, immediately after the report, Facebook has stopped the Facebook Research application. Because the Apple Developer Enterprise Program is the main solution for distributing in-house apps widely, Facebook spokespeople can confirm that Apple blocking measures are affecting internal apps I will tell you.

Also, Apple has revoked Facebook's certificate. With this, Facebook will not be able to deliver in-house apps on iOS, but also in-house apps distributed so far will be unusable. In addition, all in-house applications created by developers enrolled in the same organization may be connected to a single certificate, so any in-house applications created by Facebook affiliated companies have been suspended There is also a possibility.

In March of 2018, Apple's Tim Cook CEO asked "If you are CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerburg," if Cambridge Analytica misappropriated user data for Facebook's 50 million people ? In response , I answered "I will not be in a situation like that," and questioned how to handle privacy information on Facebook. Since then Apple and Facebook have been fighting over the privacy of users, this is the first time Apple has taken action to stop some of Facebook's activities directly.

·bonus
Google also in how to use the "iOS in-house apps" almost the same as Facebook, is that he had to deliver the application to monitor what is doing what activities are iPhone users find we are.

Google disables app that monitored iPhone usage in violation of Apple's rules - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/30/18204350/google-screenwise-app-ios-apple-violation

The problem is the application called "Screenwise Meter" which provided gift cards to users who participated in Google's Google Opinion Rewards program instead of gathering Internet usage data. The iOS version is distributed as an in-house application, and it seems that it is already unusable at the time of article creation, but the Android version is still available on Google Play.

Screenwise Meter - Apps on Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.userpanel

A Google spokesperson said overwhelmingly to The Verge, "Screenwise Meter's iOS app should not work with Apple Developer Enterprise Program.It was wrong to distribute this app, sorry.IOS version of the application This application is totally arbitrary used and we inform the user in advance about how to use the data gathered in the application and it is possible to use encrypted We can not access the data, and the user can leave the program at any time. "