Tag: safety section

Google Play Store apps soon obliged to provide privacy notices

20. August 2021

On the Android Developers Blog, Google has announced further details for the upcoming new safety section in its Play Store. It aims at presenting the security of the offered apps in a simple way to give users a deeper insight into privacy and security practices of the developers. This should allow users to see what data the app may be collecting and why, even before the installation. In order to achieve this, apps in the Google Play Store will be required to publish the corresponding information in the safety section.

The new summary will be displayed to users on an app’s store listing page. It is intended to highlight details such as:

  • What type of data is collected and shared, e.g. location, contacts, name, email address, financial information,
  • How the data will be used, e.g. for app functionality or personalization,
  • Whether the data collection is optional or mandatory for the use of an app,
  • Security practices, e.g. data encryption,
  • Compliance with the family policy,
  • Validation from an independent source against a global security standard.

To support the safety section, policy changes are being made which should lead to more transparency to users. Thus, all developers will be required to provide a privacy notice. Previously, only apps that collected personal and sensitive user data had to do so. The innovation applies to all apps published on Google Play, including Google’s own apps.

Developers will be able to submit information to the Google Play Console for review in October. However, by April 2022 at the latest, the safety section must be approved for their apps. The reason for this is that the new section is scheduled to be rolled out and visible to users in Q1 2022.

Aside from sharing additional information for developers on how to get prepared, Google has also assured that more guidance will be released over the next few months.