Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

‘Moves’ iPhone app changes privacy policy after being acquired by Facebook

Published May 6th, 2014 6:15PM EDT
Moves iPhone App Privacy Policy

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

We have covered Moves a few times here on BGR. The sleek and smart iPhone app counts your steps each day using the iPhone 5s’s in-built M7 motion co-processor, and it collects and presents that data in a great-looking minimalistic interface. Not long ago, the company behind Moves was acquired by Facebook. On the plus side, Facebook instantly made the app free following the acquisition. But as many had feared, the company also changed the app’s privacy policy.

As noted by The Wall Street Journal on Monday evening, Facebook has modified the privacy policy in Moves to allow for “broader sharing of user data, including with Facebook.”

From WSJ:

As recently as Friday, Moves’s privacy policy said the company did not “disclose an individual user’s data to third parties,” without a user’s consent, unless compelled by law enforcement. The policy said it would stay in place even if Moves were acquired.

On Monday, the policy permitted a wider range of data sharing. “We may share information, including personally identifying information, with our Affiliates (companies that are part of our corporate groups of companies, including but not limited to Facebook) to help provide, understand, and improve our Services,” the policy says.

So, as you probably expected the moment you first read that Moves had been acquired by Facebook, data collected by the app should no longer be considered private.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.