Skyscanner stops data transfer to Facebook via SDK implementationimple

Flight ticket site Skyscanner is going to release an update to its Android app to stop sending data to Facebook. Recent research found that Skyscanner and several other apps send data to Facebook servers on startup.

Skyscanner has made an update to its app that no longer transmits data to Facebook, although it has not yet appeared in the Play Store in the Benelux. That will probably happen soon. This makes the travel website the first to adapt the app in response to findings from the British Privacy International. He found out that Facebook can keep track of how many people start them with certain apps and how long everyone uses those apps.

The forwarding of such data without permission may be at odds with the European GDPR privacy regulations. In addition to Skyscanner, the British organization also found the tracking in apps such as Spotify, Duolingo and TripAdvisor.

It does not matter whether people are logged in to Facebook or not or even have a Facebook account. If an app can’t forward a Facebook ID, it uses Google’s Android Advertising ID (AAID). The notification, a call to graph.facebook.com, makes it clear that a user opens an app and other calls make it clear when users close the app.

This is no longer necessary when using the SDK. Facebook has built in a function to delay the forwarding of data until after permission, but many app developers don’t seem to have this built in yet.