We were not tracking the relationship between Facebook and the Breakup Notifier app, but if there were a Facebook Banned App Notifier, it would have emailed us to say “It’s Complicated.”
According to the Breakup Notifier’s official Website, Facebook has blocked Breakup Notifier, a new app that lets users track the relationship status of Facebook friends. When a friend (or former lover) publicly changes his or her relationship status, the app will email you their new status. When describing it, we jokingly referred to it as a stalker’s dream come true. Well, Facebook may have took these criticisms seriously. The app amassed 3.7 million users in its first three days of release, but was unexpectedly shut down by Facebook on Wednesday.
Explaining the suspension, Facebook gave the following statement: “In this particular case, Breakup Notifier triggered one of our automated systems. We’re currently looking into the issue and have reached out to the developer.”
“I built Breakup Notifier as a bit of a joke this weekend, and it just took off. We’re working with Facebook right now to get it reinstated,” said creator Dan Loewenherz, a 24-year-old computer programmer to The Globe and Mail in an e-mail.
Though the app doesn’t appear to violate any of Facebook’s policies, perhaps the sheer creepiness of it will keep it off the site. Sadly, 3.7 million people are going to have to go back to the tried and true method of Facebook stalking…they’ll just have to keep hitting the refresh button. How cruel.
