Onavo
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Onavo, Inc. was an Israeli mobile web analytics company that was purchased by Facebook, Inc. (now
Meta Platforms Meta Platforms, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads ...
), who changed the company's name to Facebook Israel. The company primarily performed its activities via consumer
mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...
s, including the
virtual private network Virtual private network (VPN) is a network architecture for virtually extending a private network (i.e. any computer network which is not the public Internet) across one or multiple other networks which are either untrusted (as they are not con ...
(VPN) service Onavo Protect, which analysed
web traffic Web traffic is the data sent and received by visitors to a website. Since the mid-1990s, web traffic has been the largest portion of Internet traffic. Sites monitor the incoming and outgoing traffic to see which parts or pages of their site are ...
sent through the VPN to provide statistics on the usage of other apps. Guy Rosen and Roi Tiger founded Onavo in 2010. In October 2013, Onavo was acquired by Facebook, which used Onavo's analytics platform to monitor competitors. This influenced
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
to make various business decisions, including its 2014 acquisition of
WhatsApp WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...
. Since the acquisition, Onavo was frequently classified as being
spyware Spyware (a portmanteau for spying software) is any malware that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user by violating their privacy, endangering their device's securit ...
, as the VPN was used to monetize application usage data collected within an allegedly privacy-focused environment. In August 2018, Facebook pulled Onavo Protect from the
iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...
due to violations of Apple's policy forbidding apps from collecting data on the usage of other apps. In February 2019, in response to criticism over a Facebook
market research Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers. It involves understanding who they are and what they need. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining com ...
program employing similar techniques (including, in particular, being targeted towards teens), Onavo announced that it would close the Android version of Protect as well.


History

Onavo was founded in 2010 by Roi Tiger and Guy Rosen. Onavo won multiple awards in 2011. The company received first prize at the Mobile Beat 2011 conference hosted by
VentureBeat ''VentureBeat'' is an American technology website headquartered in San Francisco, California. ''VentureBeat'' is a tech news source that publishes news, analysis, long-form features, interviews, and videos. The ''VentureBeat'' company was fou ...
, and the award for most innovative app at the 2011 International Startup Festival, as well as being selected as the "Best Mobile Startup" by ''
The Next Web TNW (The Next Web) is a website and annual series of conferences focused on new technology and start-up companies in Europe. The Next Web company was established in 2006 by co-founders Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten and Patrick de Laive in Amsterd ...
''. Onavo had two rounds of funding: the first was a Series A investment for $3 million from Magma Venture Partners and
Sequoia Capital Sequoia Capital Operations, LLC is an American venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California, specializing in seed stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies across technology sectors. the firm had appro ...
in May 2011. The second was a Series B investment of $13 million from Magma Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Horizons Ventures. Onavo's sale to Facebook is one of the top exits for Magma Venture Partners and other Israeli venture capital firms. On October 13, 2013,
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
bought Onavo for approximately $120 million. In March 2014, Adi Soffer Teeni was appointed CEO of Facebook Israel. In an email dated June 9, 2016, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg directed engineers at Facebook to find a method of obtaining "reliable analytics" about
Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia social media and instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of the app are that pictures and messages, known as "snaps", are usually availa ...
, which he noted that Facebook lacked due to Snapchat's network traffic being encrypted. The solution Facebook engineers proposed to Zuckerberg's directive was to use Onavo, which allowed the company to read network traffic on a device prior to its being encrypted, thereby giving the company the ability "to measure detailed in-app activity" and to collect analytics on Snapchat app usage from devices on which Onavo was installed. It did this by creating "fake digital certificates to impersonate trusted Snapchat, YouTube, and Amazon analytics servers to redirect and decrypt secure traffic from those apps for Facebook’s strategic analysis." The program, which was named "Project Ghostbusters" in reference to Snapchat's ghost-shaped logo, was later expanded to include Amazon and
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. In February 2018, it was reported that Facebook had begun to include advertising for the Onavo Protect app within the Facebook app for
iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
users in the United States. This led to denouncements of the app by media outlets, who classified Onavo as
spyware Spyware (a portmanteau for spying software) is any malware that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user by violating their privacy, endangering their device's securit ...
because it is used by Facebook to monetize usage habits within a privacy-focused environment, and because the app listing did not contain a prominent disclosure of Facebook's ownership. The app's listings were later amended to disclaim that Onavo Protect may collect information on app and website usage to improve Facebook products and services. In August 2018, Facebook pulled Onavo Protect from the iOS
App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...
after pressure by Apple, who declared it a violation of guidelines barring apps from harvesting data from other apps on a user's device. On February 21, 2019, in the wake of renewed controversy over the service due to the related Facebook Research program, Facebook announced that it would sunset Onavo Protect VPN and pull its app from Google Play Store. Effective immediately, the service ceased collecting personal data. The
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia, located within the Department of the Treasury. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Tra ...
(ACCC) initiated legal proceedings against Facebook on December 16, 2020, alleging that Facebook engaged in "false, misleading or deceptive conduct" by using personal data collected from Onavo "for its own commercial purposes" contrary to Onavo's privacy-oriented marketing. Facebook responded that it was "always clear about the information we collect and how it is used", and would defend itself in court. In July 2023 Australia's Federal Court ordered Facebook's owner to pay for failing to disclose how Onavo would be used to collect data, as well as to cover the ACCC's legal fees. In 2016, Jordana Cutler, who had previously served as the director of Ambassador Ron Dermer's office and as an advisor to Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
, was appointed as Public Policy Director for Facebook Israel. In September 2016, Israel's Minister of Justice
Ayelet Shaked Ayelet Shaked ( ; born 7 May 1976) is an Israeli former politician, activist, and Software engineering, software engineer. She served as Ministry of Interior (Israel), Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2022 and as Ministry of Justice (Israel), ...
and Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan introduced a bill aimed at curbing online
incitement In criminal law, incitement is the encouragement of another person to commit a crime. Depending on the jurisdiction, some or all types of incitement may be illegal. Where illegal, it is known as an inchoate offense, where harm is intended but ma ...
and
hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...
, imposing restrictions on the dissemination of illegal and offensive content on the Internet and social media platforms. Dubbed the "Facebook Law" by the media, the proposal garnered widespread support within the government. Between 2016 and 2018, it passed through various stages of approval: first gaining endorsement from the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, then advancing through preliminary and first readings in the Knesset Plenum, making it eligible for consideration in the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. In July 2018, the committee greenlit the bill for its second and third readings, setting the stage for final ratification by the Knesset plenary. However, at the eleventh hour, Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
unexpectedly intervened to halt the process. In response, Nissan Slomiansky, chairman of the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, asserted that the sudden reversal was prompted by pressure from "large forces" with vested interests. Media reports speculated that Jordana Cutler, Netanyahu's former advisor who serves as Facebook's Public Policy Director in Israel, played a pivotal role in influencing the Prime Minister's decision to block the legislation. Lawyer Itai Leshem, claimed during his campaign in the 2024 Israeli Labor Party leadership election, that this was part of an ongoing alleged
bribe Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...
between PM Netanyahu and Facebook.


Products

Onavo maintained consumer-oriented utility apps, including Onavo Count, which tracked bandwidth usage by apps, as well as Onavo Extend and Onavo Protect, which were VPN services for
data compression In information theory, data compression, source coding, or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation. Any particular compression is either lossy or lossless. Lossless compressi ...
and security, respectively. In 2013, the company launched Onavo Insights, a mobile analytics platform that tracked the
market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a Market (economics), market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those ...
and active usage of apps using data obtained from Onavo's consumer apps. In 2016, CEO
Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling sharehold ...
tasked Facebook employees with developing a means to decrypt the network traffic of the video sharing app
Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia social media and instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of the app are that pictures and messages, known as "snaps", are usually availa ...
for analytics purposes, citing "how quickly they're growing". A method of intercepting the traffic was developed and proposed by the Onavo team; Facebook internally referred to its analytics scheme as "Project Ghostbusters"—an allusion to Snapchat's logo and the film franchise. In August 2017, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' reported that since the acquisition of Onavo by Facebook, the company had been using the company's data to monitor Snapchat and other startups that are performing "unusually well". This data influenced Facebook to acquire
WhatsApp WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...
in 2014, and plan a video chat app to rival Houseparty in 2017.


Facebook Research

On January 29, 2019,
TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high tech, high-tech and Startup company, startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. I ...
published a report detailing "Project Atlas"—an internal
market research Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers. It involves understanding who they are and what they need. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining com ...
program employed by Facebook since 2016. It invited users between the ages of 13 and 35 to install the Facebook Research app—allegedly a
rebranded Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...
version of Onavo Protect—on their device, to collect data on their app usage,
web browsing history Web browsing history refers to the list of web pages a user has visited, as well as associated metadata Metadata (or metainformation) is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data itself, such as the ...
, web search history, location history, personal messages, photos, videos,
email Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving Digital media, digital messages using electronics, electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the ...
s, and
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
order history. Participants received up to $20 per-month to participate in the program, which was promoted to
teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated wi ...
s via
targeted advertising Targeted advertising or data-driven marketing is a form of advertising, including online advertising, that is directed towards an audience with certain traits, based on the product or person the advertiser is promoting. These traits can either ...
on
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
and
Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia social media and instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of the app are that pictures and messages, known as "snaps", are usually availa ...
. Facebook Research is administered by third-party
beta testing Software testing is the act of checking whether software satisfies expectations. Software testing can provide objective, independent information about the quality of software and the risk of its failure to a user or sponsor. Software test ...
services, including Applause and BetaBound, and requires users to install a Facebook root certificate on their phone. On iOS, this is prohibited by
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
's Enterprise Developer License Agreement, as the methods used are intended solely for use by a company's employees (for use cases such as internal software specific to their environment, and internal pre-release versions of apps).


Responses

Facebook initially responded by claiming that Facebook Research did not violate Apple's developer license agreement, and denied that the program was intended to bypass the rules that banned Onavo Protect from the iOS App Store, nor was intended to replace Onavo. Facebook later announced that it would discontinue the Facebook Research program on iOS. Facebook Research remains available for Android devices. On January 30, 2019, Apple revoked Facebook's Enterprise Developer Program certificates, which caused all of the company's internal iOS apps (including beta versions of its public software, as well as internal apps relating to Facebook's workplace) to become inoperable. Apple's
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
team stated that "Facebook has been using their membership to distribute a data-collecting app to consumers, which is a clear breach of their agreement with Apple", and that the certificates were revoked "to protect our users and their data". Apple reinstated the certificates on January 31. Of particular concern was that users as young as 13 were allowed to participate in the program. Connecticut Senator
Richard Blumenthal Richard Blumenthal ( ; born February 13, 1946) is an American politician, lawyer, and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from ...
criticized Facebook Research, stating "
wiretapping Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connecti ...
teens is not research, and it should never be permissible. This is yet another astonishing example of Facebook’s complete disregard for data privacy and eagerness to engage in
anti-competitive Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce competition in a market. Antitrust laws ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practices that harm other, usually smaller, businesses or consumers. ...
behavior." Massachusetts Senator
Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...
announced that he would introduce a bill to strengthen the
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) is a United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of Codification (law), codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the supreme law is ...
(COPPA), and said that it "is inherently manipulative to offer teens money in exchange for their personal information when younger users don’t have a clear understanding how much data they're handing over and how sensitive it is." Virginia Senator
Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th gove ...
published an
open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...
to
Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling sharehold ...
, in which he declared that he was "working on legislation to require individualized, informed consent in all instances of behavioral and market research conducted by large platforms on users".


Facebook Study

After discontinuing Onavo Protect and Facebook Research, Facebook released a market research app named ''Facebook Study'' (also known as ''Study'' or ''Study from Facebook'') on June 11, 2019. Access to Study is restricted to Facebook users who are at least 18 years old. Addressing concerns with previous incarnations of the research app, Study does not use a VPN or a root certificate to conduct its data collection. Study participants are paid through
PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...
.


Litigation

In 2020, a
class-action lawsuit A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...
was filed on behalf of Facebook users, alleging that the company "exploited the rich data it deceptively extracted from its users to identify nascent competitors and then 'acquire, copy, or kill' these firms".


References


External links

* {{Meta Platforms Israeli companies established in 2010 Software companies of Israel Companies based in Tel Aviv Meta Platforms acquisitions 2013 mergers and acquisitions Software companies disestablished in 2019 Android (operating system) software IOS malware Facebook criticisms and controversies Privacy controversies Software that bundles malware Spyware Virtual private networks Web analytics