Like Patrol app promises to revive a newly extinct feature on Instagram and show what friends are enjoying on the social network. To the delight of the stalkers, the app does a real patrol and shows not only the likes and profiles that the user has followed, but also a ranking with the biggest fans of the spied person. Available for iPhone (iOS), Like Patrol has caused controversy for bringing features that resemble stalkerwares, software designed to monitor the life of a specific target.
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In October, Instagram removed the "Following" tab, which showed the activity of followers. Since the feature was extinguished, it is no longer possible to view likes in photos and comments, as well as the users the person has followed. Launched in 2011 to facilitate the discovery of new content, the tab became obsolete with the arrival of the "Explore" section and was mainly used for stalking.
Like Patrol app spies on friends and generates polemic on Instagram Photo: Divulgao / Like Patrol
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Like Patrol not only seeks to bring back vigilance on Instagram, but also wants to amplify it. "Think of the extinct 'Following' tab, but with steroids," said Sergio Luis Quintero, founder of the app, in an e-mail sent from the site. CNET. In addition to resuming the information displayed by the tab, the app provides the average likes the user receives per post and a Top 5 with people who like the spied friend's posts.
On its official website, Like Patrol encourages Instagram members to watch over partners. "New guy? New girl? What are they doing on Instagram? With Like Patrol, you can see every post they like," write the app developers, which has been available on the App Store since July. The app breaks down information by gender and even claims to have an algorithm capable of pointing out when the user likes posts from attractive people.
App violates Instagram rules
Like Patrol is likely to be removed soon from the Apple store. That's because Instagram sent a letter to quit and give up, which violated social data collection policies. Under the terms of Instagram, information from registered users can only be shared between Facebook companies and with advertisers, measurement partners, academic researchers, and law enforcement, if necessary.
"Scraping data violates our policies, and we have taken action against companies we consider to be involved in such practices. Like Patrol was collecting people's data, so we are taking appropriate action against them," a Facebook representative told site CNET. Zuckerberg's company also said it removed the Like Patrol pages from Facebook and Instagram and is reviewing other apps from the same developer.
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