Facebook shows app that rewards users for tracking app usage

Facebook has proposed an app that can monitor users’ app usage. The app rewards users for keeping an eye on how long they use which apps.

The app is called Study, Facebook reports. Users who sign up can install it, after which they can get rewards if they let the app send data to Facebook. The app keeps track of how long users use which apps, what activities they do in those apps, and some basic information about the phone. Facebook promises that it will not collect messages, photos, videos and other personal info with the app. The screenshots only show the app in an Android version.

Study is currently only available in India and the United States, but Facebook says the app will also be released in other countries at a later date. Study is a successor to Facebook Research, an app that has been discredited for using an Enterprise Developer certificate to sideload the app on iPhones. That is not allowed, after which Apple temporarily revoked Facebook’s Enterprise certificate. Facebook Research succeeded Onavo, a VPN app that secretly spied on users.