Facebook paid teens to track smartphones in order to beat competition: Report
An investigation by the online news site TechCrunch said the effort, which had been known as the Onavo Project and later rebaptized as Facebook Research, was used to gather data on usage habits.
According to TechCrunch, Facebook said it shutdown the application on Apple's iOS on Wednesday after the article was published, but apparently kept it active for Android users.
The report said the initial Onavo app was shuttered for violating Apple's privacy policy and that the newer version may also contravene Apple's terms.
The program paid users ages 13 to 35 up to $20 a month for "root" access to their devices to track their location, app usage, spending habits and other activity.
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According to a statement to TechCrunch, Facebook claimed there was nothing secret about the effort and that it obtained parental consent for teens where required.
Facebook did not immediately respond to further requests for comment.
The project may have allowed Facebook to scoop up more data about younger users as it fends off a challenge from rival services like Snapchat, which has become more popular than Facebook among US teens.