Amid all of its data and privacy scandals, Facebook is trying to go overboard by offering up to $20 per month to people aged 13-35 to install an app that will collect all their phone data without limits, and you have to show them your Amazon purchase history, too.
After a huge backlash with their Onavo Protect VPN service, over allegations that the real purpose of the app was to stealthily siphon away user data, Facebook is trying a different approach toward getting data: Offering to pay users for it.
Don’t get too excited that Facebook wants to pay you for your data. Facebook is treating your data like an “all-you-can-eat” buffet. Installing their research app will give them limitless access to your data. They will have access to literally all your activity, including private messages, emails, web searches, browsing activity, photos, videos, instant messaging, etc.
In return, Facebook is paying users up to a measly $20 gift card per month for access to all of your phone’s data – plus – you have to give them a screenshot of your Amazon purchase history also.
“Since 2016, Facebook has been paying users ages 13 to 35 up to $20 per month plus referral fees to sell their privacy by installing the iOS or Android “Facebook Research” app. Facebook even asked users to screenshot their Amazon order history page.
The program is administered through beta testing services Applause, BetaBound and uTest to cloak Facebook’s involvement, and is referred to in some documentation as “Project Atlas” — a fitting name for Facebook’s effort to map new trends and rivals around the globe.”
Facebook previously launched a virtual private network (VPN) service, called Onavo Protect, with the claim that it helps protect user privacy.
But in reality – the service actually collects and analyzes all of your data, according to a report by Gizmodo, who revealed that the app also allows the social media giant to monitor the online habits of people once they are outside of the Facebook app. They said that the Facebook VPN service is essentially “corporate spyware.”
