This is idiotic. For one, it's no secret which apps are popular. Facebook doesn't need a trojan horse to figure that out, they just need to look at App Annie.
For another, any app with location services permissions can do exactly what he's describing.
Also what does "Android allows Facebook to do whatever it wants on the platform, and that means accessing the hardware as well," mean? Unless you're rolling your own version of Android (is that what's on the HTC First?) that's simply not true. You have access to a few things you don't on iOS but it's not "whatever you want" if you're putting it in the Play app store.
As far as I can tell this is just another third party launcher with the same privacy implications as any app that has GPS permissions.
For another, any app with location services permissions can do exactly what he's describing.
Also what does "Android allows Facebook to do whatever it wants on the platform, and that means accessing the hardware as well," mean? Unless you're rolling your own version of Android (is that what's on the HTC First?) that's simply not true. You have access to a few things you don't on iOS but it's not "whatever you want" if you're putting it in the Play app store.
As far as I can tell this is just another third party launcher with the same privacy implications as any app that has GPS permissions.