While Facebook has been getting all the attention for its covert research app, it’s not the only one doing it. Google also had similar experiences, thanks to its Screenwise Meter.
Google’s app in question does pretty much the same thing as the Facebook Research VPN. Even the manner in which is it installed is near identical – the company gets users over the age of 18 to download the app via a special code and its enterprise certificate.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Google said: “The Screenwise Meter iOS app should never have operated under Apple’s developer enterprise program – this was a mistake, and we apologize. We have disabled this app on iOS devices.”
The immediate result of this was the revoking of enterprise certificates which also crippled its employee-only apps. Their functionality has since been restored, alongside the company’s enterprise certs.
