US EditionMeta found 'covertly tracking' Android users through Instagram and Facebook
- Security researchers uncovered that Meta and Yandex covertly tracked Android users' web browsing via Instagram, Facebook, and Yandex apps in 2024 and earlier.
- This tracking exploited a loophole in Android's localhost communication, linking browsing data to app identities without users' consent or browser login, starting from 2017 for Yandex and September 2024 for Meta.
- The method embedded Meta Pixel on 5.8 million sites and Yandex Metrica on 3 million, transmitting detailed browsing data such as searches and purchases to native apps silently.
- Meta has temporarily halted this tracking feature and is collaborating with Google to address the problem, while Google, Firefox, and other browser developers have implemented safeguards to prevent this form of cross-application data sharing that breaches Play Store guidelines.
- This case highlights the need for stronger Android privacy rules and app oversight to prevent stealth tracking methods that subvert user expectations and current safeguards.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Android users with Instagram or Facebook on their phones have been spied on in a big way. Meta, the parent company behind those apps, has been able to watch which websites you visit for years, even if it was via other apps or in incognito mode.
Android users who have apps like Instagram or Facebook on their phones have been secretly tracked for years. Researchers from Radboud University and others discovered that parent company Meta could accurately track users' surfing behavior, even if they were browsing the internet via other apps or in the so-called incognito mode (hidden mode).
Sky News UK
ycombinator.comMeta found 'covertly tracking' Android users through Instagram and Facebook
Google says Meta and search engine company Yandex used Android capabilities "in unintended ways that blatantly violate our security and privacy principles".
The professor of privacy and online tracking Günes Acar of Radboud University (Netherlands) wanted to have fun with his master students, so he started looking for a curious example of tracking on his university’s website: “I knew the page had several trackers, including Facebook. But suddenly I saw there was a connection with a local port, that is, with my own computer. At first I didn’t understand anything.” Acar started looking on the internet…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources are Center
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
Ownership
To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage
