Feud escalates: Facebook ‘unverifies’ Apple as latter questions privacy issue, user tracking

Facebook has removed Apple’s blue tick page verification as the feud between the two tech giants escalates.  

Media consultant Matt Navarra noticed the blue tick had vanished from Apple’s page on Facebook Tuesday morning – a week after the Mark Zuckerberg-founded site slammed the iPhone maker over its upcoming privacy changes. 

‘Facebook has removed Apple’s blue tick Page verification,’ Navarra wrote. 

Facebook is repeatedly under fire from Apple for collecting vast amounts of user data.

In this regard, Cupertino had earlier this year released a software update – the iOS 14 – which aims to bar Facebook from tracking user movements outside of Facebook-owned apps, i.e., Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp without their consent. However, while Facebook had been worried about how this would impact its targeted ads segment, the social media giant is still pushing against Apple and collecting massive amounts of data.

Facebook can currently track users between apps. They say it helps connect small businesses to customers. 

The social media giant took out a full-page ads in relations to Apple’s proposed changes, saying they were ‘standing up for small businesses everywhere’.  

Apple CEO Tim Cook then blasted back on Twitter, stating: ‘We believe users should have the choice over the data that is being collected about them and how it’s used,’ he wrote. 

‘Facebook can continue to track users across apps and websites as before, App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 will just require that they ask for your permission first.’ 

Cook included a photo of a notification that users will be given asking whether they want apps like Facebook to track their activity.