According to a new report, the Meta-owned photo-sharing service Instagram has the ability to watch users' actions, text selections, and even text input, such passwords and private credit card information.
According to Felix Krause's investigation, Instagram and Facebook both utilise their own in-app browsers on iOS instead of the one provided by Apple for third-party apps.
Most applications load webpages via Apple's Safari, but Instagram and Facebook have been utilising their own in-app browser, according to MacRumors.
Instagram and Facebook insert a tracking JavaScript code known as "Meta Pixel" into all of the links and webpages seen with their specially developed browser, which is still based on WebKit.
Krause discovered that Meta had complete flexibility with that code to track users' interactions without getting their permission. According to the study, this enables Instagram to keep tabs on everything that occurs on other websites without the user's or the website provider's approval.
In order to track all user interactions, such as button and link clicks, text selections, screenshots, and any form inputs, such as passwords, addresses, and credit card numbers, the Instagram app injects tracking code into every website shown, including those that are opened when clicking on advertisements.
Krause made the point that, in contrast to using Apple's built-in Safari, it requires a considerable amount of work for businesses like Meta to create and maintain their own in-app browser.
Meta claims on its developer portal that , "Meta Pixel" is designed to "track visitor activity on your website" by monitoring all events a user does within their custom-built browser. There is no evidence that Meta, which owns Instagram, has gathered the user data it is capable of collecting.
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