Google Play launches its own privacy ‘nutrition labels,’ following similar effort by Apple

Privacy-related nutrition labels for apps are now available on the Play store. Ahead of the July 20th deadline that requires developers to properly disclose the data their app collects, if and how it is shared with third parties, the company says it will begin to roll out the new Google Play Data safety section to users on a gradual basis.

Apple's App Store introduced privacy labels on its own app marketplace months after the company announced its plan to do the same on its own website.

There are some key differences between the two sets of labels. Apple's labels mostly focus on what data is being collected, including data used for tracking purposes, and on telling the user what's linked to them. The labels on the products put a bigger focus on whether or not you can trust the data that is collected and how it is handled.

The labels give the developers a way to explain how the data is used, so users can understand how the data is used. They can see if the data collection is required or optional.

It was heard from app developers that simply displaying the data an app collects without additional context was not enough, which is what prompted the label.

The data safety section of the Play Data will be specific at launch.

• Whether the developer is collecting data and for what purpose.
• Whether the developer is sharing data with third parties.
• The app’s security practices, like encryption of data in transit and whether users can ask for data to be deleted.
• Whether a qualifying app has committed to following Google Play’s Families Policy designed to better protect children in the Play Store.
• Whether the developer has validated their security practices against a global security standard (more specifically, the MASVS).

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Since introducing its plan for the labels, Google has only made minor changes to the store's user interface and experience. The updates include encouraging developers to refer to their SDK providers, data safety information, and a new question about System services.

It's not clear if the effort to actually check the data for accuracy at the time of submission is part of the reason why the labels are added. Developers are responsible for the information that they give, according to the company. If it finds a developer has misrepresented the data they have provided in violation of the policy, it won't immediately remove the app, but it will ask the developer to fix it. If the app doesn't comply, an action will be taken later.

App privacy labels have been accused of being unreliable sources of information after their launch on the App Store. According to a report by The Washington Post, many of the labels they reviewed in a spot-check provided false information. For instance, apps that said they collected no data were actually doing the opposite.

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The labels gave users a false sense of security about how their data was used, rather than a way to take action. The Washington Post was told by Apple that it would audit labels for accuracy. There are no such claims today.

The company said that it uses systems and processes that are continuously improving to check each Data safety section.

The Data safety section is already rolling out and developers have until July 20 to complete it. Many users will see apps without labels as the product launches. It could be that the staggered release discourages users from immediately going to check their favorite apps, and by the time those labels arrive, users may have forgotten they had wanted to do this.

The labels will begin to appear on the phones of users around the world over the next few weeks.

A reference to location and other permission requests has been removed from the article.