The Google Play Store hosts several third-party Facebook clients that allow users to access the social media platform on their phones. Customers offer a faster, lighter, and better-designed interface than the company’s own social media apps for Android, and as a result, they’ve built up a large user base over the years. But Facebook is now cracking down on a few of those customers, namely Swipe and Simple Social, and forcing their developers to remove apps from the Play Store.
Facebook lawyers have reportedly sent cease and desist notices to developers of Swipe and Simple Social (via Android Police), asking them to remove their apps from the Play Store. Swipe for the Facebook Developer shared the following post on the app’s subreddit after receiving the company’s review:
It’s with a heavy heart that the day has finally come to say goodbye to Swipe for Facebook.
Today I received a cease and desist letter from some attorneys representing Facebook Inc. My social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram have also been permanently disabled (unfortunately preventing me from keeping tons of memories over the years and contacting many distant relatives). I think this has happened to many other developers, which means the day of Facebook wrapper apps has finally come to an end.
Because of all of this, I have removed Swipe for Facebook and Swipe Pro for Facebook from the Google Play Store. The app will still work for those of you who have it, although I’m not sure for how long.
The developer of Simple Social shared the following message via a pop-up notification for those still using the app:
Important message
Due to changes created by Facebook, Simple Social is no longer supported. You can continue to use Simple Social, but YOU DO SO ON YOUR OWN AGREEMENT. Your Facebook account may possibly be temporarily or permanently deactivated, which is not under the control of Creative Trends. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for all your support over the past 5 years. Have a nice day.
Although the developers did not share the content of the review, Simple Social developer Jorell Rutledge said Android Police that Facebook challenged the app’s CSS changes to hide sponsored posts on the platform and access Facebook’s public data. The main stake for the business could be centered on theming and modifying the social media experience outside of the corporate vision, which is virtually the USP of all third party experiences.
Apps are functional if you have them installed, although there is no guarantee how long they will work. Since developers are withdrawing support and have also suspended their personal accounts in some cases, there is no guarantee how long these apps will last and how safe it is to access your account from a computer. third-party application.
If you’re done with Facebook, their insistence on using first-party experiences, and their massive data breaches, here’s how you can delete your Facebook account.