Earlier this year, Google announced plans to follow in Apple's footsteps and roll out privacy labels for apps on the Play Store next year. The new labels, much like Apple's App Privacy labels, will inform users on what data an app collects about them, allowing them to make a more informed decision on whether to download a specific app.
Google has now shared additional information regarding the upcoming Play Store "safety section." In a blog post, Android's vice president of security and privacy, Suzanne Frey, laid out the company's timeline for when developers will need to adopt the new labels. Android developers will be able to begin adding their app's privacy information in October of 2021 and will be required to by April of 2022. The labels will launch sometime within Q1 of next year.
Google also shared images of what the upcoming safety section will look like for users on an app's specific page. The section will inform users of what type of data points the app will collect about them. Developers will have the ability to specify how some information, like location, is used specifically within their app. On Apple's App Store, developers don't have the ability to provide context as to why their app may need specific information from a user.
Google is taking another approach. The company says that it spoke to developers and learned that they appreciate being able to provide context towards their data collection practices and being able to specify whether some practices are optional.
In designing our labels, we learned developers appreciate when they can provide context about their data practices and more detail on whether their app automatically collects data versus if that collection is optional. We also learned that users care about whether their data is shared with other companies, and why.
Additionally, Apple earlier this year required that all new apps on the App Store provide information within their Privacy Labels and that all existing apps must provide them with their next update. At least for now, Google says that if developers don't provide their privacy information, it "may" reject that app from the Play Store, leaving the door open for developers to possibly decide not to provide their privacy practices.
Thursday February 11, 2021 12:28 pm PST by Juli Clover
The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce this week sent a letter to Apple [PDF] inquiring about the accuracy of the App Privacy labels that Apple asked developers to start adding to apps back in December.
In the letter, the committee asks Apple about reports suggesting that some App Privacy labels are offering "misleading and false information." The query was prompted by a January...
Apple with iOS 14 introduced App Privacy labels for App Store apps, which are designed to let customers know details about the data that an app will collect about them before they make the decision to install an app.
Google is planning to follow in Apple's footsteps with the Play Store, introducing a new feature that will require developers to provide transparency into how apps are using...
Thursday March 11, 2021 10:00 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today updated its privacy website with a new "Labels" section that brings privacy labels for all of Apple's apps together in one place, making it easier for users to learn about how Apple apps handle their personal data.
Apple already provided privacy labels for its apps since the feature launched last year, but on individual support pages, so this new "Labels" section makes it easier...
Four months after Apple first began requiring apps to add App Privacy labels to their App Store listings, Google has finally updated all of its most popular apps with the information, letting people know exactly what data Google is collecting.
Google began adding App Privacy labels to its apps in February after months of delaying. Gmail, for example, got App Privacy labels on February 22,...
Tuesday February 23, 2021 2:50 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple today informed developers that it has introduced additional guidance for App Store privacy labels, a feature that Apple has been requiring for all apps since December.
Apple says that rules surrounding data types like email, text messages, and gameplay content have been expanded to make it easier for developers to understand and comply with requirements.Additional details have been...
Wednesday February 10, 2021 4:24 pm PST by Juli Clover
Though Google has promised to update its suite of apps with App Privacy labels to comply with App Store rules that Apple began enforcing in December, many of its major apps have gone months without an update and still list no privacy information.
It's been so long since Google last updated the Gmail app, in fact, that Gmail now displays a warning that the latest security features are...
Friday January 29, 2021 8:21 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Last month, Apple introduced privacy labels on the App Store, providing users with a broad overview of the data types an app may collect, and whether the information is used to track them or is linked to their identity or device.
Apple has required developers to provide this privacy information when submitting new apps and app updates to the App Store since early December, but the labels...
Over the course of the last several weeks, Google has been adding App Privacy labels to its iOS apps in accordance with Apple's App Store rules, but it took Google multiple months to begin sharing the information.
There was speculation that Google's delay meant that it had something to hide, which DuckDuckGo is leaning into with a new tweet that highlights Google's data collection and calls...
Wednesday January 19, 2022 11:30 am PST by Juli Clover
It's now been a few months since the M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro models launched in October, and MacRumors video editor Dan Barbera has been using one of the new machines since they debuted. Over on the MacRumors YouTube channel, Dan has shared a three month review of his MacBook Pro to see how it has held up over time and how it's changed his workflow.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube ...
Wednesday January 19, 2022 6:44 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple suppliers will begin producing display panels for the third-generation iPhone SE this month, with final assembly of the device likely to start in March, according to information shared by display industry consultant Ross Young.
Based on this production timeframe, Young believes the third-generation iPhone SE is likely to launch in the second half of April, or perhaps in early May at...
Tuesday January 18, 2022 11:46 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released a new 4C170 firmware update for the AirPods 3, an update from the prior 4C165 that was made available in December.
Apple does not offer details on what's included in new firmware updates for the AirPods, so we don't know what improvements or bug fixes the new firmware brings.
There is no standard way to upgrade the AirPods software, but firmware is...
Tuesday January 18, 2022 6:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today filed unreleased iPhone and iPad models in the Eurasian Economic Commission database, as spotted by French blog Consomac.
The filings likely represent the rumored third-generation iPhone SE, fifth-generation iPad Air, and potentially more. The unreleased iPhone models have the identifiers A2595, A2783, and A2784, while the unreleased iPad models have the identifiers A2588, A2589, ...
Tuesday January 18, 2022 10:35 am PST by Juli Clover
Verizon and AT&T's upcoming rollout of new C-Band 5G technology could cause chaos and lead to widespread delays of passenger and cargo flights, major U.S. airlines said on Monday in a letter sent to the White House National Economic Council, the FAA, and the FCC (via Reuters).
"Unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the traveling and shipping public will essentially...
Tuesday January 18, 2022 4:15 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Microsoft has released a new version of its Office for Mac productivity suite that includes an updated Excel app with 100% native support for Apple silicon machines.
According to the release notes accompanying version 16.57, Excel will now run natively on Macs powered by Apple's M1-series processors without having to use the Rosetta 2 translation layer, which means anyone using a Mac with an ...
Wednesday January 19, 2022 2:22 am PST by Sami Fathi
Apple is now requiring that customers in the United States verify that they're active students, teachers, or staff members at an educational institution in order to access education discounts on products.
Previously, little verification was needed for customers to purchase products through Apple's education store in the United States. Apple's education stores offer models of the iPad and Mac ...
Continuing the tradition set with the iPhone 13 Pro, only the highest-end iPhone 14 models will feature Apple's ProMotion display technology, according to a respected display analyst.
Ross Young, who on multiple occasions has detailed accurate information about Apple's future products, said in a tweet that ProMotion will not be expanded to the entire iPhone 14 lineup and will remain...
Apple's long-rumored under-display Face ID technology will not be coming to the iPhone 14 Pro, according to recent reports.
Based on the latest rumors, it now looks unlikely that the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max will feature Face ID technology under the display as several reports claimed over the past year.
Display industry consultant Ross Young, who often reveals ...
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