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.
The American Federation Teachers Union has announced its latest partnership with NewsGuard in efforts to help educators play a greater role in deciphering facts from fiction that students see online. They say the goal is to help students build critical-thinking skills while also teaching them the importance of media literacy. Executive Vice President of Partnerships at NewsGuard, Sarah Bandt, joined Cheddar to talk more.
James Whitley, Core Contributor at cypher, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses the underlying factors that support a bounce-back for Bitcoin despite the token's recent slump.
Commercial and residential buildings account for 13% of carbon emissions in the U.S., according to the EPA, and one company says it has a solution. Runwise says it has updated the boiler and heating systems of thousands of buildings, and that its technology not only lowers carbon output but also saves landlords money. Lee Hoffman, Co-Founder and COO of Runwise, joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Following sales tech startup Scratchpad raising $33 million in Series B Funding, CEO and co-founder Pouyan Salehi joined Cheddar to discuss how his company's software works to help salespeople with an all-in-one workspace, integrating with Salesforce to optimize notes, spreadsheets, and other relevant information so businesses can forecast and make the best decisions. "If you look at other crafts like artists, they'll have studios; chefs, they'll have kitchens; scientists will have labs, and we just asked, well, if you look at sales as a craft, why doesn't something exist that is designed solely for a salesperson?" Salehi said about his workspace app.
Google could be gearing up to release its own wearable device as rumors swirl about a potential smartwatch with the Pixel brand. Jon Prosser, the creator of Front Page Tech, who tweeted a possible leak about the product, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to discuss potential the benefits of it entering the same space as the Apple Watch. Prosser said, while he doesn't expect it to launch until at least 2023, the Pixel Watch will be "one of the most vital, most important wearables that we can have on the market," noting that it won't likely challenge Apple for much market share but will set the standard for other Android wearables to come.
