Apple launched higher data protection standard

13. January 2021

Already announced in Apples Worldwide Developers Conference last June a new privacy feature for Apple’s App Store has now been launched with iOs 14.3 (we reported). Originally iOs 14 should have had these update, but based on critic of app developers and big tech giants the launch has been postponed to give the concerned persons and companies more time to be prepared for the changes.

The update requires the App providers to answer several questions regarding data privacy. The requirement to answer the questions only apply in case an app is uploaded to the App Store for the first time or in case an update is published by the App provider. So at this point, not many apps come up with this additional information. However, Apple’s own apps and for example the Facebook Messenger have already been updated regarding this information.

The process is as follows: In the course of uploading an app or update the provider must answer questions regarding inter alia which categories of personal data are collected by the app or third parties within the app, if the data is used to track the user and with which data sources and other data the obtained data is linked. The inserted information is afterwards displayed in the App Store below the rating of the app.

According to Apple, the goal is that the information in the App Store should make it easier for the user to know what the privacy status of an app is. However, it should be noted that the information is based solely on the (voluntary) information provided by the provider and is not verified by Apple.

Category: Data Protection
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