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Facebook will shut down its controversial market research app for iOS

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Re: Facebook will shut down its controversial market research app for iOS

#151

Post by radium3d »

bob_theslob646 wrote: post #136
ardy42 wrote: post #130

Facebook has had its enterprise certificates revoked by Apple [1] https://seekingalpha.com/news/3427520-apple-banning-facebook... > "Facebook has been using their membership to distribute a data-collecting app to consumers, which is a clear breach of their agreement with Apple," Apple says. "Any developer using their enterprise certificates to distribute apps to consumers will have their certificates revoked, which i…

It is still available on Android.

What is it called? I don't see it on the play store.

I think I found it? Was it called onavo on Android? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onavo.spac...

Re: Facebook will shut down its controversial market research app for iOS

#152

Post by foobiekr »

meitham wrote: post #95

I struggle to see how software developers can willingly do work on a project that goes against all values and morales! I have previously worked with developers in start-ups and was amazed to hear some of their backgrounds. One previously worked for a company that bundles spyware with freeware MSI products. Another worked for an airline agency, where they advertise fake a discount on tickets when the price was in fact…

I know a reasonable number of Facebook employees. Their opinions on the last year range from “don’t care/getting paid” to “everyone does it.”

These are good people. They just don’t care.

Re: Facebook will shut down its controversial market research app for iOS

#153

Post by richardwhiuk »

floatingatoll wrote: post #125
hoppelhase wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They probably took it down because as the original app it violated the App Store’s guidelines on data collection. Or maybe Apple took it down because - as you said - it violated the store guidelines. Or Apple just encouraged them to do it by themselves (for a better PR). So effectively, they were forced.

It wasn’t in the App Store. It was sideloaded from a Facebook website using a profile signed by Facebook’s enterprise developer certificate. Screenshots in various news articles confirm this.

It violated the Enterprise Developer Certificate Terms, so Apple have revoked the Developer certificate.

The rules state that Enterprise apps must only be in the hands of users who are under the supervision of the company which operates the Enteprise certificate. It's likely that Apple doesn't consider the people Facebook have co-opted into this program to qualify

Re: Facebook will shut down its controversial market research app for iOS

#154

Post by bob_theslob646 »

radium3d wrote: post #151
bob_theslob646 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is still available on Android.

What is it called? I don't see it on the play store. I think I found it? Was it called onavo on Android? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onavo.spac...

https://www.earticleblog.com/facebook-utest-research-app-pay...

It is only available via referral.

Re: Facebook will shut down its controversial market research app for iOS

#155

Post by tasubotadas »

zapzupnz wrote: post #39
tasubotadas wrote: post #18

What a bullsh*t. People got some money for giving up some privacy. Nobody was forced to do this. And now everybody is freaking about a fairly reasonable trade. What's next? People will start harassing students/researchers that do paid studies?

Certainly nobody was forced to do it, but it is more than likely that nobody understood what they were being asked to do. Not only that, children were being targeted by this scheme. Lastly, the implementation on iOS circumvented rules relating to an app distribution which shows Facebook’s proclivity for flouting the rules. Pushing the app distribution thing aside, being aboveboard in every other respect is still insu…

Well, I am not a big fan of telling people what to do or what not to do. Do you want to sell your private info to some corps? Feel free to do so.

Will it blow up in your face? Perhaps. I could not care less. It's your problem. You didn't know what you were being asked for? Again - it's your problem.

People agreed to do that on their own, they got paid for that, and, most likely, they don't care if FB knows what kind of porn do they browse.

All the stuff about ethics and "honourable means" is irrelevant in this argument. Is war ethical? Is spying honourable? Depends on whom you ask.

>requirement to install a root certificate

Requirement? You can just tell them to f*ck off.

In any case, I could not care less about this, but what annoys me is the people that pretend to be super-nannies that gonna save the world by telling what the others should do. Through history, this has never worked.

Re: Facebook will shut down its controversial market research app for iOS

#156

Post by lostmsu »

foobiekr wrote: post #152
meitham wrote: post #95

I struggle to see how software developers can willingly do work on a project that goes against all values and morales! I have previously worked with developers in start-ups and was amazed to hear some of their backgrounds. One previously worked for a company that bundles spyware with freeware MSI products. Another worked for an airline agency, where they advertise fake a discount on tickets when the price was in fact…

I know a reasonable number of Facebook employees. Their opinions on the last year range from “don’t care/getting paid” to “everyone does it.” These are good people. They just don’t care.

> These are good people. They just don’t care.

I think these two statements contradict each other.

Re: Facebook will shut down its controversial market research app for iOS

#157

Post by treis »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #109
meitham wrote: post #95

I struggle to see how software developers can willingly do work on a project that goes against all values and morales! I have previously worked with developers in start-ups and was amazed to hear some of their backgrounds. One previously worked for a company that bundles spyware with freeware MSI products. Another worked for an airline agency, where they advertise fake a discount on tickets when the price was in fact…

To any HN readers who work at Facebook: your company is morally decrepit and you are complicit. If you go to LinkedIn and indicate that you're looking, you'll have 20 leads in your inbox by lunch. You don't have to work there.

From Google, MS, Instacart, Uber et al? The reality is that every major tech company does scummy stuff. There are vanishly few tech companies that don't.

Re: Facebook will shut down its controversial market research app for iOS

#158

Post by Sir_Cmpwn »

treis wrote: post #157
Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To any HN readers who work at Facebook: your company is morally decrepit and you are complicit. If you go to LinkedIn and indicate that you're looking, you'll have 20 leads in your inbox by lunch. You don't have to work there.

From Google, MS, Instacart, Uber et al? The reality is that every major tech company does scummy stuff. There are vanishly few tech companies that don't.

There are a fuckload of tech companies. You don't have to work for a big name.

Re: Facebook will shut down its controversial market research app for iOS

#159

Post by dave5104 »

klodolph wrote: post #87
tasubotadas wrote: post #18

What a bullsh*t. People got some money for giving up some privacy. Nobody was forced to do this. And now everybody is freaking about a fairly reasonable trade. What's next? People will start harassing students/researchers that do paid studies?

I think you might underestimate how seriously universities take research ethics, these days. Ever since the late 1970s or so. I doubt Facebook’s actions would have gotten past a typical university ethics board, which would be required before the study could proceed.

That's rather charitable, comparing this project by Facebook to an academic study.
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