Apple Boots Facebook Privacy App for Violating Privacy
*By Carlo Versano*
Apple instructed Facebook to remove an app that lets users redirect their mobile data through a VPN managed by Facebook servers, saying the software violated new rules Apple put in place to limit the data developers can collect.
The iPhone maker's demand to remove Onavo Protect ー which is ostensibly designed to protect user privacy ー for being too broad in how it tracks those users is a blow to Facebook as the social media giant grapples with new controversies related to its ad model, privacy, and the distortion of the platform by bad actors. The story was first reported late Wednesday by the [Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-to-remove-data-security-app-from-apple-store-1534975340).
Apple said in a statement that it "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.”
Facebook told the Journal, “We’ve always been clear when people download Onavo about the information that is collected and how it is use."
The company also removed another app, mostly out of use since 2012, that it said may have mishandled the personal data of about 4 million users. The "myPersonality" app is the second casualty of Facebook's app auditing process, which it instituted amid the fallout from Cambridge Analytica.
Meanwhile, Facebook's partnership lead Dan Rose, one of the company's first executives, [announced](https://www.facebook.com/drose/posts/10105190309509931) Wednesday that he is leaving the company. His departure comes after communications chief Elliot Schrage [vacated his post](https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/facebook-elliot-schrage-departure-1202846683/) in July after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and chief security officer Alex Stamos [stepped down](https://www.businessinsider.com/alex-stamos-is-leaving-facebook-2018-3) at the start of this month.
Facebook parent Meta’s miss on Q4 earnings raised alarm bells amongst investors. The tech giant lost users for the first time as it invests a lot into the metaverse, its virtual realm, in the hopes that consumers will move their social media consumption there. The stock dropped around 25 percent on the report, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg chalked it up to people flocking toward apps like TikTok, even as his own platform attempts to make a big pivot to the metaverse future. "It's gonna take a long time to develop and it's gonna take a long time to bring to fruition," Rebecca Walser, president of Walser Wealth Management told Cheddar. "In the meantime, the world is moving on. We have a very short attention span, especially on social media, and we want the short little videos. And Tiktok has just taken off."
Just this week, Facebook's parent company Meta released an update for its 3D avatar creation on Facebook and messenger. This update is encouraging users of Instagram to create their virtual selves, and it is an early step towards making the metaverse vision a reality. David Ewalt, editor-in-chief at Gizmodo joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Ed Butowsky, managing partner at Chapwood Investments, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to break down the disappointing takeaways from Spotify's Q4 earnings report, which sent the stock plunging.
Google parent company Alphabet saw yet another successful quarter reporting its final earnings report for 2021 on Tuesday. The tech giant beat Wall Street expectations across the board with much of that success owed to not only the growth of its cloud business, but also its multi-platform advertising. Joanna O'Connell, Principal Analyst at Forrester explains why advertising may be one of the keys to Alphabet’s future success.
Solid-state battery maker Factorial Energy recently raised $200 million in a Series D round led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis. Factorial says the funding will be used to accelerate commercial production and deployment of its solid-state battery technology, which the company says is safer, and offers up to 50% more driving range than current lithium-ion technology. Factorial also has joint development agreements (announced in late 2021) with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Hyundai, three of the top 10 global automotive manufacturers, to commercialize its batteries. Factorial CEO Siyu Huang joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Google's parent company Alphabet reported blockbuster fourth quarter earnings, boosted by better-than-expected Google ad revenue and Google Cloud revenue. The results sent Alphabet's stock soaring, and the company could come close to hitting a $2 trillion market valuation similar to other tech giants Apple and Microsoft. The company also announced a 20-for-1 stock split, which would make shares more accessible to would-be investors. Mark Lehmann, CEO at JMP Securities, a Citizens Company, joins Closing Bell to discuss Alphabet's earnings report, whether the company will reach a $2 trillion market cap, its stock split, and more.
