Big Quizzes Go Offline in This Week’s List of Top Growing Apps by Monthly Active Users
Is it enforcement day for Facebook? Several of the top placers on this week’s AppData list of fastest-gaining apps by monthly active users (MAU) redirect to Facebook’s front page, indicating that the network may have at last taken notice of, and action on, shady tactics used by a particular developer.
We’re not sure, but we think the same developer is behind all the apps in question: Friend Quiz, Friend FAQ, Friend Quizzes – Dating! and Friend Poll!. They’re all among the top ten gainers below:
| Name | MAU | Gain |
Gain, % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Static FBML |
36,892,114 | +9,443,232 | +25.60 |
| 2. |  Friend Quiz |
20,667,405 | +8,100,641 | +39.20 |
| 3. |  Friend FAQ |
13,497,001 | +5,736,127 | +42.50 |
| 4. |  Slide FunSpace |
23,432,250 | +1,705,579 | +7.28 |
| 5. |  Friends Exposed |
18,280,121 | +1,153,129 | +6.31 |
| 6. |  Marketplace |
13,274,027 | +1,057,287 | +7.97 |
| 7. |  Friend Quizzes – Dating! |
1,001,005 | +953,245 | +95.23 |
| 8. |  How Fast Are You?! PROVE IT |
1,915,222 | +833,647 | +43.53 |
| 9. |  Friends Emotions [Emociones de Amigos] |
1,501,781 | +746,238 | +49.69 |
| 10. |  Friend Poll! |
611,274 | +597,203 | +97.70 |
| 11. |  Bubble Island |
1,101,968 | +594,265 | +53.93 |
| 12. |  Tiki Resort |
1,218,159 | +575,310 | +47.23 |
| 13. |  FarmVille |
83,127,751 | +561,878 | +0.68 |
| 14. |  My City Life |
3,908,234 | +537,319 | +13.75 |
| 15. |  PetVille |
19,619,857 | +475,914 | +2.43 |
| 16. |  Ninja Saga |
3,926,247 | +453,121 | +11.54 |
| 17. |  Video 4 You |
1,587,038 | +410,554 | +25.87 |
| 18. |  MindJolt Games |
19,925,788 | +398,103 | +2.00 |
| 19. |  Daily Photo |
6,659,520 | +393,930 | +5.92 |
| 20. |  Translations |
379,238 | +374,515 | +98.75 |
On Friday, we explained how these quiz apps were subverting Facebook’s developer policies. After Facebook added mandatory opt-outs for users allowing them to decline giving their email address or permission to post to their wall, these apps added in boxes of their own that forced the user to hand over permissions, or else go away.
The takedown will be a big blow to the developer, who is listed on two of the apps as FriendQuizzes, Inc. Friend Quiz and Friend FAQ don’t list a developer name, but all four are identical in form and function. In total, this group of apps had over 35 million MAU, about as many users as Facebook’s third-largest app overall.
One developer’s (self-inflicted) bad luck could be another’s jackpot strike. Topzy, which makes Friends Exposed, should be dancing for joy; its quiz app is very similar to those banned, but it has survived unscathed and free to pick up all the quiz-bereft users. As you can see from its placement at number five above, Friends Exposed was already growing strongly.
Rounding out the top growers this week: Static FBML isn’t worth more than a passing mention, as it’s just a Facebook-built app for customizing Pages that’s indirectly picking up users. Slide FunSpace is coming off a growth binge spurred by Slide figuring how to take advantage of Facebook’s new policies — although, obviously, with more respect for the actual rules than the unfortunate quiz developer. Marketplace has a similar story, except its surge came from a sweepstakes.
March 8th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Hi!
Are developers obligated to accept the “proxified” emails Facebook lets users pick?
I’ve seen a few apps reject the Allow order, until the real address is given. I don’t think that should be allowed.
Cheers!