Last week, The Wall Street Journal discovered 11 apps were sending sensitive information to Facebook. Now, several of those popular health apps have stopped sharing data with the social media behemoth, according to a new report.
None of the data being sent to Facebook were things the platform actually needed to know. Some of it included really personal stuff, like information about users’ weight and even their menstrual cycles.
In addition, The Wall Street Journal reported, “Facebook software collects data from many apps even if no Facebook account is used to log in and if the end user isn’t a Facebook member.”
New tests revealed the following apps stopped sending Facebook data: Flo Health Inc.’s Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker; Azumio Inc.’s Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor and Glucose Buddy; FitNow Inc.’s Lose It!; and Breethe Inc.’s Breethe: Sleep and Meditation.
This news comes after Facebook is still facing trouble for how it handles data and privacy. The platform recently pulled its data collecting VPN app, Onavo from Google Play—months after Apple removed the app from its own store, stating it didn’t comply with privacy rules.
Now, Facebook is trying to get out in front of another mess it created. According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook itself hit up advertisers and developers to tell them they aren’t allowed to send any sensitive information about users.
Facebook even told one developer to make sure it had a legal justification for all of the users’ information it was sending through the soft-ware development kit (SDK).
“We work with the app developers using our SDK to ensure they adhere to our terms. In cases where we see violations, we work with the app developers to get into compliance and take action as needed,” a Facebook spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal.
