Last year it was discovered that Facebook had been promoting its “free” Onavo VPN app. While VPNs are generally viewed as a good thing and a good way to protect your privacy, it was discovered that the Onavo app was actually did the opposite by tracking the user’s activities across the web.
Later in August 2018, the app was removed from Apple’s App Store for violating Apple’s policy on data collection. However according to a report from TechCrunch, it has since been revealed that Facebook will be shutting down its Onavo app for good. It will not be shut down immediately, but it is expected to transition towards shutting down.
It is also expected to immediately cease pulling in data from its users and will function as a regular VPN app for users until they can find a suitable replacement for it. What’s interesting is that more recently, Facebook had been discovered to be running a “research’ app which paid users to collect data on them.
That app has since been removed from the App Store, but not before Apple proceed to temporarily suspend Facebook’s ability to distribute iOS apps internally. Many have since applauded Apple for their decision which showed the public that despite Facebook being as big as they are, they are not immune from the consequences of their actions.