Onavo was a mobile analytics and market intelligence company that was founded in 2010 and acquired by Facebook in 2013. The company developed a popular mobile VPN app that claimed to help users save data and protect their privacy by routing their internet traffic through Onavo's servers.

However, the main reason Facebook acquired Onavo was for its ability to track and analyze the data usage of millions of users, including which apps they were using and for how long. This data was used by Facebook to identify trends and spot potential competitors in the tech industry.

One example of how Facebook used Onavo to its advantage was in the acquisition of WhatsApp, a messaging app that had rapidly gained popularity and posed a threat to Facebook's dominance in the messaging space. By using Onavo's data, Facebook was able to see the extent of WhatsApp's popularity and determine that it was worth acquiring.

In addition to helping Facebook spot potential acquisition targets, Onavo's data was also used to inform the development of new features on the Facebook platform. For example, Facebook reportedly used Onavo data to see the popularity of Stories on Snapchat and then copied the feature for its own platforms, including Instagram.

However, the use of Onavo by Facebook was not without controversy. In 2018, Apple removed Onavo's VPN app from the App Store due to its data collection practices, which violated the company's guidelines. The app was also banned from Google's Play Store for similar reasons.

Overall, the acquisition of Onavo by Facebook and the use of its data analytics capabilities played a significant role in helping the company stay competitive in the tech industry and identify profitable opportunities