It is no secret that Apple isn’t too impressed with Facebook following the social network’s Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. More recently it seems that Apple has been toughening their stance on privacy, which is why it doesn’t come as a surprise to learn that Facebook’s Onavo VPN app has since been taken down from Apple’s iOS App Store.This is according to a report from The Wall Street Journal who cited sources who told them that Apple officials had informed Facebook that Onava violated Apple’s rules on data collection, and that Facebook should voluntarily remove the app from the App Store. The removal has since been confirmed by Apple in a statement emailed to CNBC.
According to the statement, “We work hard to protect user privacy and data security throughout the Apple ecosystem. With the latest update to our guidelines, we made it explicitly clear that apps should not collect information about which other apps are installed on a user’s device for the purposes of analytics or advertising/marketing and must make it clear what user data will be collected and how it will be used.”
This is actually not the first time that Onavo has come under suspicion. Earlier this year it was reported that the Onavo VPN app actually tracks the user’s activity across apps, although Facebook has since argued that they have always been transparent about what Onavo does and collects. “We’ve always been clear when people download Onavo about the information that is collected and how it is used. As a developer on Apple’s platform we follow the rules they’ve put in place.”