Google Play’s new safety section will show how Android apps use your data
- The Google Play Store now has a security area that shows how apps are using your data.
- You know whether an app encrypts data and otherwise respects your privacy and security.
- All new apps must have this information by Q2 2022.
Google will soon make privacy a selling point for Android apps. A security area is added to Google Play Store lists that shows how a particular app uses and protects your data.
The privacy upgrade not only describes how Android apps use and share data (including content types such as contacts and photos), but also describes the controls and protection for that data. They know if you have the option to share data or if you can delete that data if you want to uninstall the app. They know if apps use security practices like encryption, if their own security sections have been independently vetted, and if they adhere to Google’s kid-friendly family guidelines.
Connected: Android 12 features (including data protection)
You’ll have to wait until the third quarter of 2021 to see the policy, and developers can start declaring the information in the third quarter. Google Play won’t show the section for apps until the first quarter of 2022. However, any new Android app (and updated versions of existing apps) must declare this information by the second quarter of 2022 – developers have no choice but to outline their privacy and security measures.
Creators who misrepresent the data usage of their Android app are asked to correct them or to “enforce guidelines”, e. B. blocking updates.
Google doesn’t require developers to set up features that weren’t part of the Play Store policy. However, doing so could put pressure on them to tighten the privacy and security of their Android apps. This could also reduce the chances of downloading apps that play with your data quickly and easily, e.g. B. those that they sell to third parties or leave open.
