Since 2016, Facebook has distributed an iOS and Android app that offers users $20 per month in gift cards for substantial access to their mobile data and usage habits. Called Facebook Research, the app was distributed on iOS outside of Apple's App Store by Facebook. It asked users for root access for any data on their phones and allowed Facebook to track their browsing history, message contents, app usage habits, and location data. It even had the potential to allow Facebook to decrypt encrypted network traffic on users' devices.
Apple promptly revoked Facebook's Enterprise Certificate yesterday evening. This had the effect not only of preventing further use of the app to collect user data but also of removing Facebook's ability to use Apple's Enterprise Developer Program internally. Facebook employees must now use Apple's App Store to download the apps they have developed onto their own iPhones or iPads until the situation is resolved or a new solution is adopted. Apple's move not only affects distribution of new apps but makes existing apps inoperable within the organization.
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We designed our Enterprise Developer Program solely for the internal distribution of apps within an organization. Facebook has been using their membership to distribute a data-collecting app to consumers, which is a clear breach of their agreement with Apple. Any developer using their enterprise certificates to distribute apps to consumers will have their certificates revoked, which is what we did in this case to protect our users and their data.
This is not the first time Apple has smacked Facebook's hand away from the user data cookie jar. Facebook had previously used a VPN app called Onavo Protect to do exactly the same type of user data collection and monitoring. Facebook had promoted Onavo Protect as an app that would keep users' personal data safe, even as it used that same app to collect users' data. The app was promoted from within Facebook's popular social networking iOS app as well.
The changes effectively precluded Facebook from offering the app through Apple's App Store, but Facebook continued to collect user data through the Facebook Research app distributed via enterprise certificates. Further, TechCrunch commissioned Guardian Mobile Firewall security expert Will Strafach to examine the Facebook Research app. He found that it shared code with Onavo Protect and contained numerous references to that application and shared resources. Facebook confirmed that the two apps were supported by the same team.
Also a VPN, Google's similar app is called Screenwise Meter. Like the Facebook app, it is "distributed by way of a special code and registration process using an Enterprise Certificate" after users agree to opt-in in exchange for gift cards, according to TechCrunch. Using this method, it also skips past the App Store to collect a wide range of user data.
This is only one recent iteration of Google's Screenwise data collection program. We reported way back in 2012 that Google was paying users to track 100 percent of their Web usage using a physical hardware box called the Screenwise Data Collector.
The ID for Vendors (IDFV), may be used for analytics across apps from the same content provider. The IDFV may not be combined with other data to track a user across apps and websites owned by other companies unless you have been granted permission to track by the user.
Yes. If your application uses any third-party services that pass unique identifiers or create a shared identity of the user between applications from different companies for ad targeting, ad measurement or sharing with a data broker, your app will need to request permission from the user using the AppTrackingTransparency framework.
Data brokers are defined by law in some jurisdictions. In general, a data broker is a company that regularly collects and sells, licenses, or otherwise discloses to third parties the personal information of particular end-users with whom the business does not have a direct relationship.
We promised then that we would review all of the apps that had access to large amounts of information before we changed our platform policies in 2014. It has involved hundreds of people: attorneys, external investigators, data scientists, engineers, policy specialists, platform partners and other teams across the company. Our review helps us to better understand patterns of abuse in order to root out bad actors among developers.
It is important to understand that the apps that have been suspended are associated with about 400 developers. This is not necessarily an indication that these apps were posing a threat to people. Many were not live but were still in their testing phase when we suspended them. It is not unusual for developers to have multiple test apps that never get rolled out. And in many cases, the developers did not respond to our request for information so we suspended them, honoring our commitment to take action.
Today, Facebook announced new API restrictions for apps. These changes are intended to continue helping developers create apps that the Facebook user base enjoys while also protecting the data and privacy of people using Facebook.
The tweaks include deprecating certain tools because of low adoption (including the Profile Expression Kit, Topic Search, Topic Insights and Topic Feed and Public Figure APIs) and limiting public content discovery APIs to Pages content and public posts on a select number of verified profiles. The company is also reintroducing search of Facebook Pages thanks to Pages API. As Facebook notes, though, "developers will need feature permissions to Page Public Content Access, which can only be obtained through the app review process."
The company is requiring anyone using Marketing API to manage and automate their advertising on Facebook to undergo an app review process; Lead Ads Retrieval and Live Video APIs will also require additional app review permissions. Finally, Facebook is allowing developers to run test queries through the Graph API Explorer App using their own access tokens.
Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook has been scrambling to limit the data that app developers have access to. The company previously announced they were deprecating many APIs to limit the transfer of data outside of Facebook. This is just another step along the way, as the social network promises that yet more changes are on the way.Turn on browser notifications to receive breaking news alerts from EngadgetYou can disable notifications at any time in your settings menu.Not nowTurn onTurned onTurn on
GraphQL is a query language for APIs and a runtime for fulfilling those queries with your existing data. GraphQL provides a complete and understandable description of the data in your API, gives clients the power to ask for exactly what they need and nothing more, makes it easier to evolve APIs over time, and enables powerful developer tools.
Send a GraphQL query to your API and get exactly what you need, nothing more and nothing less. GraphQL queries always return predictable results. Apps using GraphQL are fast and stable because they control the data they get, not the server.
GraphQL queries access not just the properties of one resource but also smoothly follow references between them. While typical REST APIs require loading from multiple URLs, GraphQL APIs get all the data your app needs in a single request. Apps using GraphQL can be quick even on slow mobile network connections.
GraphQL creates a uniform API across your entire application without being limited by a specific storage engine. Write GraphQL APIs that leverage your existing data and code with GraphQL engines available in many languages. You provide functions for each field in the type system, and GraphQL calls them with optimal concurrency.
In iOS 14.5 or later, iPadOS 14.5 or later, and tvOS 14.5 or later, apps must ask for permission before tracking your activity across other companies' apps and websites. Tracking occurs when information that identifies you or your device collected from an app is linked with information that identifies you or your device collected on apps, websites and other locations owned by third parties for the purposes of targeted advertising or advertising measurement, or when the information collected is shared with data brokers. Learn more about app tracking and other privacy controls.
When trying to switch from developer to live mode, developer.facebook.com gave me this warning: Before switching to live mode, you must provide both a valid Privacy Policy URL and data deletion information. Update this information in Basic Settings on App DashboardI have provided my Privacy policy url, but I dont know what to put here:
The Data Protection Assessment is just one of a few new standards that Facebook is requesting developers meet. In late 2020, Facebook also rolled out the Data Use Checkup, a requirement that developers review the permissions they have access to and commit their API access and data to comply with the Facebook Platform Terms and Developer Policies, or risk losing their API access.
Facebook also did not specify the names of the apps or the developers when asked by Threatpost, but said that the apps were primarily social-media management and video-streaming apps, designed to make it easier for group admins to manage their groups more effectively and to help members share videos to their groups.
The 2018 data restriction, which also required app developers using the Groups API to get approval from Facebook to integrate their apps to groups, also impacted other APIs on the platform, including the Pages API, Events API, Instagram Platform API and more.
Q: How do I start using Amazon Cognito? You can easily get started by visiting the AWS Console. If you do not have an Amazon Web Services account, you can create an account when you sign in to the console. Once you have created a user pool for user management or an identity pool for federated identities or sync operations, you can download and integrate the AWS Mobile SDK with your app. Alternatively you can call the Cognito server-side APIs directly, instead of using the SDK. See our developer guide for more information. 2ff7e9595c
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