On Wednesday, Apple revoked Facebook’s enterprise certificate after revealing that it broke app distribution agreements it had with the company. The certificate allows Apple partners like Facebook to distribute pre-released iOS applications to its employees for Beta testing.
However, TechCrunch reported Tuesday that Facebook had discreetly paid non-Facebook employees to install a specific VPN application called “Facebook Research” to collect user information, phone usage, and web history. Facebook allegedly distributes the app under Apple’s Enterprise Developer Program.
“We designed our Enterprise Developer Program solely for the internal distribution of apps within an organization,” Apple announced earlier this week.
“Facebook has been using their membership to distribute a data-collecting app to consumers, which is a clear breach of their agreement with Apple. Any developer using their enterprise certificates to distribute apps to consumers will have their certificates revoked, which is what we did in this case to protect our users and their data.”
Restoring Facebook’s Enterprise Certificate
Today, Facebook confirmed the restoration of its iOS enterprise certificate.
“We have had our Enterprise Certification, which enables our internal employee applications, restored,” the company said in a statement. “We are in the process of getting our internal apps up and running. To be clear, this didn’t have an impact on our consumer-facing services.”
This restoration signifies the resolution of the issue between the two tech giants. Aside from Facebook, Apple also previously canceled Google’s enterprise certificate for breaking the company’s developer agreement.
In that case, Google was operating an app called Screenwise Meter under Apple’s Enterprise Developer Program. Google, like Facebook, immediately fixed the problem and issued an apology.
“The Screenwise Meter iOS app should not have operated under Apple’s developer enterprise program — this was a mistake, and we apologize,” the company said its official statement.
“We have disabled this app on iOS devices. This app is completely voluntary and always has been. We’ve been upfront with users about the way we use their data in this app, we have no access to encrypted data in apps and on devices, and users can opt out of the program at any time.”
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