Moves, a health and fitness tracking app for iOS and Android, has changed its stance on user data just weeks after being
acquired by Facebook. The app has apparently reneged on a claim that it will not "commingle data with Facebook," with an update to its
privacy policy now stating it will share data "including personally identifying information" with affiliates, including Facebook.
The policy change, spotted by
the Wall Street Journal, could grant Facebook more location-based data, something it is already trying to acquire through its own initiatives. The social network is reportedly testing location information embedding and integrating Facebook Places data
into Instagram, and recently announced it will be adding
Nearby Friends to its iOS and Android apps, offering notifications to users if they are close to each other.
A statement from Facebook received
by Mashable seems to state that the commingling of data will not take place, despite the policy change. "Commingling, or merging, data would allow us to identify Moves users who are also Facebook users – we have no plans to do that. In other words, Facebook is not adding Moves user data to a Facebook user's Facebook account," reads the statement, though it continues to advise it will be providing "support and services" to the Moves app, something that does require access to Moves data.
The update to the privacy policy in Moves does not bode well for users of
WhatsApp, another app acquired by Facebook. WhatsApp made a similar pledge in terms of user data privacy, and while it appears WhatsApp has kept up its end of the bargain, there is still a chance this may change in the future. In
allowing the acquisition to take place, the Federal Trade Commission did warn that both companies need to adhere to existing user policy agreements, with failure to do so potentially breaching a
2011 order against Facebook.
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