The social giant Facebook is again using its users as test subjects. After the internet went fury when Facebook covertly turned hundreds of thousands of users to be subjects of "emotional contagion", the company has another test.
Facebook is crashing its own Android app on purpose, just to see how people will react to the inconvenient.
In order to get more information about users' loyalty to the social network, Facebook is also testing Android users' patience. To do this, Facebook secretly introduced an artificial error that would automatically crash the app for hours at a time.
By knowing who is loyal to Facebook, the company could threshold who ditches Facebook and its dedicated apps altogether. What the company wants: the threshold won't ever be met. And if the native app continued to not work, Facebook hopes that users will try using Facebook on mobile browsers instead as an alternative.
Looking at the history of Facebook' app crashes, it can be traced to the company's relationship with Google, the owner of Android. The relationship between the two is rocky, and it has many ups and downs.
Facebook Vs. Google: Aiming To Be Their Own
To be on users' mobile devices, Facebook depends heavily on Google's Play Store. Or to mobile carriers and mobile phone manufacturers so Facebook can be installed from the factory, or by carriers before being shipped.
The test focuses on what Facebook is going to prepare if its core Facebook app would be kicked out of Play Store.
The search engine giant Google alleges that the social networking service has deployed a series of apps within the app over Google's Terms of Service for the Google Play store. Facebook wanted a contingency plan in case the app was taken off of Google Play.
With the test, Facebook can know "who" is addicted to Facebook, and who will stay on Facebook if the potential conflict happens. Facebook is testing its own independence away from Android operating system which is being used by billions of people around the world.
The number of Facebook users who were subjected to this intentional app crashing is not known. The experiment isn't explained, and the public is kept wondering because Facebook itself won't say the reasons.
Facebook's policy about data usage says that the company collects information "from or about the computers, phones, or other devices where you install or access our Services, depending on the permissions you've granted."
"We are able to deliver our Services, personalize content, and make suggestions for you by using this information to understand how you use and interact with our Services and the people or things you're connected to and interested in on and off our Services," the policy reads.
"We conduct surveys and research, test features in development, and analyze the information we have to evaluate and improve products and services, develop new products or features, and conduct audits and troubleshooting activities."
So in fact what Facebook did, is still within its policy. People can expect that the "test" here can come in any sort of tests. But still, to some users, the test by Facebook has gone too far, again. As a public service used by billions of people across the globe, it should give a good explanation when it comes to disabling its own app. Especially when these people are test subjects. People are thinking themselves as lab rats subjected for tests for the benefit of the scientist (Facebook).
Amir Efrati from The Information noted that Facebook even temporarily took the app out of the Google Play store in some regions to test audience reaction. The company then provided a link to those users on how to install the app through a backdoor in the phones, straight from the Facebook's server, not Google's.
Some installation went smoothly while some others experienced hiccups along the way. But the experiment in overall weren't disastrous.
Google is powering most of the web: from its popular Search, to Maps, Docs, Translate to Android. It also ventures to the offline world with driverless cars and others. Google has influence wherever it puts its feet, and for that matter, with its knowledge and resources, many are depending on it to thrive. That include many companies, including Facebook.
Now, Facebook wants to change that fact. Facebook wants to be its own giant, away from the giant.
Facebook Against The People
Over the years, Facebook has seen many ups and downs. But mostly, what the company sees is an increasing profit and influence in both online and offline. Years have past, and those years have given a tremendous wonders to the social network.
After a series of controversies concerning privacy in many countries, Facebook is going nowhere but up. The company quickly became the vital way people communicate and share online. It's becoming a brand that is both popular on the internet and the real world.
With its massive popularity and cash, Facebook is in its all time high. The company started investing on many philanthropic efforts. Both through its controversial Internet.org, and through other efforts as well. CEO Mark Zuckerberg also pledged to give away most of his personal wealth for the greater goods, and dedicated even more when his daughter was born.
More income and more spending, Facebook turns more aggressive. Its mission is to connect the world online. It's aim is to make the world more open and connected.
Concerning the series of tests in the recent years? Facebook is like selectively "disconnecting" the world for hours at a time. Benefiting itself and most others, Facebook just wants to be alone. And that means it wants to be independent. For that matter, in terms of competitive reasons, even Google shouldn't stand in its way.