Facebook has quietly been running a "Facebook Research" VPN app for years that offered teens, including minors, up to $20 per month in exchange for access to all of their private data, including private messages, photos and videos, and even real-time location, according to a new investigation report by TechCrunch.

This "Facebook Research" application is a direct successor to Onavo, the VPN app that Facebook used to mine data about user habits and use of third-party apps, but had shut down by Apple in August. The ban came after Cupertino changed its terms to explicitly ban apps ...