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According to a long-running rumour, the Facebook and Facebook Messenger apps drain the battery on cellphones that have the apps installed. According to data scientist and former Facebook employee George Hayward, Facebook can intentionally drain the battery on its users’ cellphones. According to reports, what Facebook is doing is known as “negative testing,” and it allows tech companies to secretly drain the batteries on someone’s phone in order to test features on an app or see how an image might load.
Hayward was fired by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for refusing to participate in negative testing. “I said to the manager, ‘This can harm somebody,’ and she said by harming a few we can help the greater masses. “Any data scientist worth their salt knows not to hurt people,” he told the Post.
Hayward was fired by Meta in November and initially sued the company in Manhattan Federal Court. The 33-year-old worked for Meta’s Facebook Messenger app, which allows users to communicate via text, phone, and video calls. Hayward’s attorney, Dan Kaiser, stated in the suit that draining users’ smartphone batteries puts people in danger, particularly “in circumstances where they need to communicate with others, including but not limited to police or other rescue workers.”
The suit had to be dropped because Meta’s employment terms required Hayward to argue his case in arbitration. According to Kaiser, most people are unaware that Facebook and other social media companies can intentionally drain your battery. In response to the practise of negative testing, the lawyer stated, “It’s obviously illegal. It’s upsetting that my phone’s battery can be manipulated by anyone.”
During his time at Meta, the company gave Hayward an internal training manual titled “How to Run Thoughtful Negative Tests.” The manual provided examples of how to conduct such tests. After reviewing the document, Hayward stated that it appeared to him that Facebook had previously used negative testing. “I have never seen a more horrible document in my career,” he added.
Hayward was hired in 2019 and received a six-figure annual salary from Meta. However, when it came to the company’s request to conduct negative testing, Hayward stated, “I refused to take the test. It turns out that telling your boss, ‘No, that’s illegal,’ does not go over well.”
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