A number of iOS users filed a class-action lawsuit against Meta for collecting their personal activity data without their consent.
Those affected report having opted-out of the feature beforehand, and claim that Apple found a workaround in their latest privacy update to make that possible.
Last year, Apple changed their rules for iOS developers, making it mandatory for them to ask a user’s permission before their apps are allowed to collect tracking data.
Meta skirted these updates by automatically opening links in Facebook’s in-app browser rather than the user’s default browser.
Researcher Felix Krause came upon a similar discovery back in August, when he found out that multiple apps were using in-app browsers to inject JavaScript snippets into websites for the sole purpose of tracking user activity.
Both Facebook and Instagram inject JavaScript, with Meta stating in a comment that the Javascript snippets were “developed to honor people’s privacy and [App Tracking Transparency] choices.”
The Willis v. Meta Platforms Inc., 22-cv-05376 class-action lawsuit claims this behavior violates state and federal laws limiting unauthorized collection of personal data, but this would have to be further proved in court. His discovery pertained to the case of TikTok’s iOS in-app browser monitoring all keyboard input and screen taps.
Last year, TikTok also quietly updated its privacy policy to allow the app to collect biometric data on U.S. users, including “faceprints and voiceprints”, an allegation which TikTok’s Global Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Pappas reportedly denied before the Senate Homeland Security Committee earlier this month.
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