INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGhostyImage caption
Ghosty required new sign-ups to recruit at least one further friend
Ghosty, an app which gives users access to private profiles, has been removed from the Google Play Store.The move came after Instagram said
it planned to send a cease and desist letter to Ghosty's developer.The service required each user to give it access to their own profile, as
well as to invite their friends - at least one of whom also had to join.It then gives access to data in those accounts as well as any other
profiles which those users follow.If a member has access to a private profile, when they join it also becomes available to the rest of
This would include otherwise inaccessible videos and photos
The app, which charged a subscription fee, had been downloaded more than 500,000 times since its launch in April, according to analytics
Android Police, which reported on the controversy last week, had described it as creating "a stalker paradise".Image copyrightGetty
ImagesImage caption
Ghosty had more than 500,000 downloads
Instagram's terms of use state that users
cannot transfer "any aspect" of their account to others.'Yes, this app violates our terms," a spokeswoman for the Facebook-owned platform
told the TheIndianSubcontinent."This functionality has never been available through our API [application programming interface]."We will be
sending a cease and desist letter to Ghosty ordering them to immediately stop their activities on Instagram, among other requests
We are investigating and planning further enforcement relating to this developer."Ghosty's developer did not reply to the
TheIndianSubcontinent's request for comment.A spokeswoman for Google was unable to confirm if the app was voluntarily removed from the Play
Store or if the tech giant took the action itself.Image caption
Like Patrol was removed by Apple in early November
Its deletion comes a week after Apple removed Like Patrol from its own online store - another app that Instagram had objected to
