Apple restores Facebook's developer certificate, ending 2 days of chaos
- Apple is restoring Facebook's developer certificate, two days after it was revoked.
- The certificate allows Facebook to distribute internal apps to employees, and when Apple revoked it, it caused chaos at the company.
- Apple had taken action after Facebook was caught misusing the certificate to power an app that spied on users' phones and data in exchange for cash.
Facebook's two days of internal chaos are coming to an end.
Apple has agreed to restore Facebook's developer certificate, the social networking giant said in a statement - a move that will Facebook's internal company apps for employees to continue working.
On Wednesday, the iPhone maker had pulled the plug on Facebook's certificate after Facebook was caught using it to power an app that spied on users in return for cash - and because the same certificate underpinned the internal apps Facebook employees used for everything from communicating to handling company transportation, they all stopped working, too, causing havoc.
Internally, Facebook employees were furious about the move, sources previously told Business Insider, alternately blaming their own colleagues responsible for the offending research app and Apple, who some theorized was out to get Facebook.
In a statement provided to Business Insider, a Facebook spokesperson said that the company is now in the process of getting its company apps working again.
"We have had our Enterprise Certification, which enables our internal employee applications, restored. We are in the process of getting our internal apps up and running. To be clear, this didn't have an impact on our consumer-facing services.
The incident has highlighted the astonishing power Apple can wield over other companies that rely on its platform. And it has one of the most immediately disruptive consequences Facebook has faced thus far from its chain of scandals and missteps over the past two years.
Apple also this week revoked Google's developer certificate after the search engine firm was found to be doing similar, causing similar chaos at the company.
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