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.
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 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...
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 January 5, 2021 4:29 pm PST by Juli Clover
Earlier today, Fast Company shared an article noting that Google has yet to update its iPhone and iPad apps to bring them in line with Apple's new App Store privacy labels requirement. Fast Company speculated that Google might be trying to delay revealing its privacy label data, but it turns out that's not the case.
According to a report from TechCrunch, Google is not taking a stand against...
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...
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...
Monday December 14, 2020 10:26 am PST by Juli Clover
The iOS 14.3, iPadOS 14.3, and macOS Big Sur 11.1 updates that are live as of today introduce a new App Privacy labeling feature for the App Store and macOS App Store, giving customers a way to determine what data an app collects about them before choosing to install it.
Apple first introduced these labels at WWDC, and has given developers until now to prepare for them. Developers need to...
Tuesday November 24, 2020 10:30 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today reminded developers to submit privacy information for their apps using App Store Connect, with that info set to be used for a new privacy label feature that will be added to each App Store app.
Apple announced the new privacy feature during WWDC, and it will see apps providing specific details on the information that is collected from users when an app is downloaded. Apple has...
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