Facebook has stopped UK car insurer Admiral from using people’s profiles to ascertain how safe they might be as drivers.

The insurer’s Firstcarquote app was designed to request access to users’ Facebook profiles, ask them 10 questions and examine their “likes” and posts to establish high or low risk.

If a user was deemed low-risk, they would be offered a discount.

Admiral developed the app as a response to the fact young drivers are automatically considered high-risk and are quoted much higher premiums.

However, on the day of the proposed launch last week, Facebook blocked the app, saying while Admiral can use Facebook to log in and for verification, it cannot determine discounts on the basis of posts.

Admiral plans to introduce its app with reduced functionality.