Google prepares to bring more transparency around how Android applications track and process your personal data.
Developers are now required to provide more information about their applications listed on the Google Play Store.
In accordance with Google, “the developer will be able to give users more insight into their privacy and security practices, and explain the application data can collect and why – all before the user installs the application.” There will be a new “Privacy & Security Data” section on the application list page that will provide what type of data collected by certain applications such as location, financial information, user activity, whether data can be deleted or not, how data is distributed and again.
It will also display information about whether the application follows family policy and has gone through an “independent security review” or not.
Users can expand each pointers to find out specific privacy details of each application.
Google is expected to launch the final feature this year or early next year.
The company has also released new user data policies that make it mandatory for developers to reveal how user’s personal data is processed.
Google in the official blog post said, “You have to be transparent in the way you handle user data (eg, information collected from or about users, including device information).
That means revealing access, collection, use, use, and sharing your application, and limit the use of data to the purpose disclosed.
“Also, if there are applications that handle personal or sensitive user data, the developer needs to provide additional requirements in the” Personal and Sensitive Information “section.
The requirement of Google Play is also a requirement that is prescribed by the Privacy Act and Applicable Data Protection.
For example, for applications that deal with financial information or payments or government identification numbers, developers must ensure that the application “may not openly reveal any personal or sensitive user data related to financial activities or payments or government identification numbers.”