Report: Facebook paid people to gather data on usage habits

In its zeal to learn more about its users, Facebook secretly paid volunteers to install a "Facebook Research" app on their phones to monitor their usage, according to a bombshell report in TechCrunch. Facebook didn't respond to a USA TODAY request for comment, but did confirm it to TechCrunch. The social network pays users up to $20 a month plus referral fees to install the app. The key part of this story isn't that Facebook was just paying anyone $20 a month for access to their phone data, they were specifically targeting teens, who may not have been aware of what they were downloading. Follow USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham on TwitterRead or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2019/01/29/facebook-paid-people-gather-data-usage-habits-techcrunch-report/2716035002/

Facebook paid teenagers to mine device data

moreover from TechCrunch reported that Facebook used social media ads to target teenagers for the scheme. The research focused on users aged 13-35, and those under 18 were asked to get signed parental consent, Facebook said. "Despite early reports, there was nothing 'secret' about this; it was literally called the Facebook Research App. "Finally, less than 5% of the people who chose to participate in this market research program were teens. Not unusualHowever, Facebook has another research app that has been running since 2016.