Back
Havish Gupta
Figuring Out • 6m
How facebook predicted Rise of WhatsApp and Snapchat using this App! The story begins with an Israeli app called Onavo, initially developed as a data-saving and analytics tool. Later, the app added a VPN feature to improve its usability. In 2013, Facebook purchased Onavo for $200 million and rebranded it as a VPN app that claimed to protect user privacy. However, the irony here is that facebook's real intention was to use it to collect data on which apps and features users were engaging with. In an email dated June 9, 2016, Mark Zuckerberg directed Facebook engineers to find a way to obtain "reliable analytics" about Snapchat, as Facebook lacked such data due to Snapchat's network traffic being encrypted. Later they also included apps like Amazon and YouTube for the data collection. In Feb 2018, Facebook started advertising Onavo on iOS devices, catching Apple's attention. Apple removed Onavo from the App Store in August of the same year, citing violations of its data collection policies. In Feb 2019, Facebook removed the app from the Google Play Store and ceased all operations. It is estimated that insights from Onavo influenced Facebook's decisions to acquire WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as copy features like Stories and Stickers from Snapchat. This is truly Smart or just straight out cruel!
Replies (4)
More like this
Recommendations from Medial
Adarsh
आदर्शवाद के मार्ग पर • 8m
Currently, Pakistan is the largest market for freemium VPN services, as the government has banned X and is indirectly cracking down on many social media apps. As a result, Pakistani users are turning to VPNs to access these services, yet Indian engin
See More
Rahul Das
Product and analytic... • 1y
Twitter attempted to buy Instagram before Facebook acquired it for $1 billion, according to The New York Times. Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder and early Instagram investor, tried to secure the app months before Facebook's deal. Despite frequently
See More
Muttu Havalagi
🎥-🎵-🏏-⚽ "Finding ... • 1y
Google to shut its paid VPN service as 'people weren't using it' VPN by Google One, the paid VPN service offered by Google, will be discontinued in the coming months, the company confirmed to 9to5Google. Google initially offered the service to Premi
See More
Anonymous
Hey I am on Medial • 1y
Another story of a failed product by a tech giant! In 2013, Facebook launched Facebook Home, an ambitious project aimed at revolutionizing smartphone interfaces by deeply integrating the social media platform into Android devices. The idea was to tr
See More
Rohan Saha
Founder - Burn Inves... • 3m
WPI DATA Feb WPI inflation rate at 2.38% vs 2.31% in Jan Feb WPI food inflation at 5.94% vs 7.47% in Jan Feb WPI primary articles inflation at 2.81% vs 4.69% in Jan Feb WPI fuel and power inflation at -0.71% vs -2.78% in Jan Feb WPI manufactured
See More
Thakur Ambuj Singh
🚀 Entrepreneur | Re... • 3m
Keeping Users Hooked! 📲🔥 An Engagement Moat ensures frequent and consistent usage by making platforms irresistible. Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok dominate by fostering social interactions, mobile engagement and addictive content. The more users sta
See More
Pranav Sheth
Together We Can Make... • 1y
Snapchat was founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown while they were students at Stanford University. Originally named "Picaboo," the app allowed users to send photos that would disappear after a set time. They later renamed i
See More
Download the medial app to read full posts, comements and news.