Facebook removes Fan Check app after malware rumors

Fan Check is a Facebook app that claims to tell you who's viewing your Facebook profile. Although it doesn't actually work, it's not a virus, as a widespread rumor would have you believe. The real malware problem comes from other applications that promise to remove the Facebook Fan Check virus, and users are falling for it after seeing the virus rumors reposted in friends' status messages. So, don't keep posting the warning about Facebook Fan Check being a virus, don't link to any sites that claim they'll fix it, and don't download or install anything from said sites yourself.

In the meantime, Facebook has removed Fan Check from the app directory. Visiting its URL just shows a note explaining that Facebook had an issue with the third-party developer and is investigating it. Although Fan Check is only "temporarily suspended," Mashable reported (before the app was shut down) that Facebook told them it had disabled some functionality it found questionable in Fan Check. Seeing who's viewing whose profiles has always been an internal feature for Facebook, and perhaps they object to an app that aims to make it publicly available.

Tags: facebook, fan check, FanCheck, malware, virus