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.
Waymo's self-driving taxis have been in the spotlight for both negative and positive reasons. This week, the automated ride-hailing taxis went viral after a San Francisco woman gave birth inside a Waymo taxi while on her way to the hospital. A Waymo spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed the unusual delivery. It said the company's rider support team detected unusual activity inside the vehicle and alerted 911. The taxi arrived safely at the hospital before emergency services. Waymo's popularity is growing despite heightened scrutiny following an illegal U-turn and the death of a San Francisco cat. The company, owned by Alphabet, says it is proud to serve riders of all ages.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
The end of 2025 is almost upon us. And it’s time to unpack Spotify Wrapped. On Wednesday, the music streaming giant delivered its annual recap — giving its hundreds of millions of users worldwide a look at the top songs, artists, podcasts and other audio they listened to over the past year. Spotify isn’t the only platform to roll out a yearly glimpse of data collected from consumers’ online lives. But since its launch about a decade ago, Wrapped has become one of the most anticipated. And Spotify is billing the 2025 edition to be the biggest yet, with a host of new features it hopes may also address some disappointments users had last year.
Elon Musk’s X unveiled a feature that lets users see where an account is based. Online sleuths and experts quickly found that many popular accounts, often posting in support of the U.S. MAGA movement with thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers, are based outside the U.S. This raises concerns about foreign influence in U.S. politics.
