Facebook Pays Teens to Install Spy VPN App on Their Smartphones

The Facebook Research app allows the company to track users’ activity on their phones and online. Eager for user data, Facebook has secretly been paying people to install the Facebook Research VPN app, which lets the company monitor all activity on their devices and across the internet.

Previously, Facebook did something similar with the Onavo Protect app, which Apple removed from the App Store last summer. Now, Facebook has decided to bypass the Apple app store by offering users a reward for installing Facebook Research and granting access to their network traffic.

According to TechCrunch, since 2016, Facebook has been paying users aged 13 to 35 up to $20 per month (plus referral bonuses) for access to their data through an iOS or Android app. Moreover, Facebook even asks users to send screenshots of their Amazon order history pages.

The program, referred to in some documents as Project Atlas, is managed through beta testing services like Applause, BetaBound, and uTest to conceal Facebook’s involvement.

After TechCrunch published its report, Facebook announced it was shutting down the iOS version of Facebook Research.