Apple strikes blow to Facebook as it clamps down on data harvesting

Rules appear to target services like Onavo Protect, which claims to protect user data even as it feeds information to Facebook

Apple has updated its rules to restrict app developers' ability to harvest data from mobile phones, which could be bad news for a Facebook-owned data security app called Onavo Protect.

Onavo ostensibly provides users with a free virtual private network (VPN) which, it claims, helps "keep you and your data safe when you browse and share information on the web". What is not immediately obvious is that it feeds information to Facebook about what other apps you are using and how much you are using them back to the social networking giant.