The tech world is currently reeling from the news yesterday that Facebook was paying teenagers to give them full access to all their personal data on their smartphones, when it turns out Google has been running a similar programme.
Also broken by TechCrunch, the global tech company has been running an app named Screenwise Meter, which is very similar to Facebook in that it was a research app that wanted to understand how people were using their devices.
Like Facebook, the Screenwise Meter app encouraged users to download it via a special code and registration is using an Enterprise Certificate, which meant people had to go around the Apple App Store, in order to download the app.
This type of app is usually reserved for use by internal employees, who are usually testing out specific aspects before an app would go fully live in the App Store.
However, as this was not the case and Google was, in fact, distributing it to external users, it is against Apple’s terms and conditions.
As a result, Google has been punished by Apple for going against its T&Cs. The iPhone maker removed Google's ability to offer its employees internal-only iOS apps for 24 hours on Thursday.
Google's access has since been restored.
How did Google's Screentime app work?
Users of the app were granting access to Google and enabling the company monitor and analyse their traffic and data. In return, they were rewarded with gift cards. Facebook, on the other hand, was paying its users $20 a month (just over £15) as well as bonuses for each referral.
Unlike Facebook, Google required users to be 18 or over, or 13 if part of a family group which hints at some form of parental consent.
Google has since announced it will remove the Screenwise Meter app and disable it on iOS devices, though it is still available on the Google Play Store.
Read More
The company issued a statement to TechCrunch saying: “The Screenwise Meter iOS app should not have operated under Apple’s developer enterprise program — this was a mistake, and we apologize. We have disabled this app on iOS devices.
"This app is completely voluntary and always has been. We’ve been upfront with users about the way we use their data in this app, we have no access to encrypted data in apps and on devices, and users can opt out of the program at any time.”
The latest Facebook scandal broke the same day as the company’s fourth-quarter earnings results. Despite the many dramas it has faced over the past year, the social media platform has over 1.52 billion people using Facebook every single day in December 2018. It now has 2.32 billion monthly users and revenue was up too.
Despite the dramas, it looks like Facebook is almost untouchable at this stage.
