Confidentiality statements on Google Play

Samsung S21. © iStock.

Starting next year, apps on Google Play will have to show details about what data they collect, as well as information about privacy and security practices. The announcement comes just months after Apple established a similar policy for its App Store. According to Google, the initiative is meant to “help people understand the data an app collects or shares, if that data is secured, and additional details that impact privacy and security.” A new section on each app’s sheet will detail what user data an app has access to (like location, contacts, or personal information like email addresses), but Google says it also wants to let developers give some context on how this data is used and what it means for the app’s functionality. The new policy won’t go into effect for several months to give developers enough time to implement the changes. Developers can start declaring the privacy-related information during the fourth quarter of this year, and users will begin seeing it during the first quarter of 2022. New apps and their updates will be required to include this new information from the second quarter of 2022.

⇨ The Verge, Jon Porter, “Google Play’s app listings will require privacy info next year, just like the App Store.”

2021-05-06