Google Follows Facebook in Misusing Apple Enterprise Certificates for Data Collection
Google operates an app called Screenwise Meter that uses Apple's enterprise program to bypass the App Store and collect user data, mirroring Facebook's recently banned practices. Following scrutiny, Google disables the iOS app and admits the distribution method violates Apple's policies.
Google faces scrutiny after TechCrunch reveals that the company operates an app called Screenwise Meter, which closely resembles Facebook's recently banned data-collection app. By using an Apple Enterprise Certificate, Google invites users to sidestep the App Store and install a VPN that monitors and analyzes their web traffic and device data. This approach represents the exact same policy violation that forces Apple to shut down Facebook's internal apps.
The Screenwise program, which launches in 2012 and currently operates under the Cross Media Panel and Google Opinion Rewards brands, rewards users with gift cards for installing tracking software on their phones, browsers, routers, and TVs. The program allows teenagers as young as 13 to participate as secondary panelists in a household, exposing minors to extensive data monitoring just like Facebook's controversial Research app.
After TechCrunch questions the policy violation, Google immediately disables the Screenwise Meter app on iOS devices and promises to remove it from the Enterprise Certificate program. A Google spokesperson states that distributing the app through the enterprise program is a mistake, emphasizing that participation is voluntary and users retain the ability to opt out at any time.