Facebook announced the suspension of thousands of third-party apps as part of an ongoing investigation. This comes shortly after the Cambridge Analytica scandal which resulted in decisions around what user data can be collected by developers. The suspended apps are associated with 400 developers who have access to users login data whenever they log into these apps with their Facebook username and password.
Third-party apps are applications created by developers that did not manufacture the device the app runs on or own the website that offers it. So many developers create these third-party apps for IOS or Android operating systems. These apps can either be allowed or forbidden by the device or website administration.
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The apps were suspended for a variety of reasons that may not pose as threats to users. Rather, the suspension was because the developers did not respond to Facebook’s request to hand over information on how they collect user data. Some of the suspended apps happened to still be in their test phase.
Following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook had previously announced that apps would be banned for privacy violation such as sharing user’s information with researchers and companies.
Investigations into third-party applications are ongoing and more suspensions may be announced soon. Henceforth, the social media giant must annually certify developers under the Federal Trade Commission, to ensure they are in compliance with the company’s policies.
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