Google Play Store to require new privacy information

In a blog post published on May 6th, 2021, by Suzanne Frey, VP, Product, Android Security and Privacy, Google announced a new policy that will require developers to provide more privacy and security information about their apps. These details will be made available to users in a new “safety section” in the Google Play Store starting in 2022. The announcement comes a few months after Apple began displaying similar privacy information in their App Store.

The new “safety section” will require Android app developers to explain what kind of data is collected by their apps. For example, whether the app collects personal information, such as name, username or email and whether it collects information directly from the phone, such as approximate or exact location, contacts, media (photos, videos, audio files). Developers must also disclose how the app uses the data. For example, to improve app functionality and personalization. The section will also include information about security features, such as encryption and compliance with Google’s policy for apps aimed at children and families.

The new policy won’t be in effect for a few months in order to give developers enough time to implement the changes. Developers can begin declaring the new information in the fourth quarter of 2021. Users will be able to see the information on Google Play starting in the first quarter of 2022, and all new and existing apps will have to declare the information starting in the second quarter of 2022.

The changes seem designed to allow app developers to better explain to customers whether they can trust an app with their data, rather than working to make apps more data-efficient.