Google to add privacy labels to Play Store apps

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Like Apple, Google is planning to add a new safety section in Play Store that will show what data apps collect and store, and how they use it.

The change will make it mandatory for both Google’s own apps and third-party applications to share details about the information they collect and provide a privacy policy for users.

The tech giant said in a blog post that, “We’re pre-announcing an upcoming safety section in Google Play that will help people understand the data an app collects or shares, if that data is secured, and additional details that impact privacy and security.”

The Google Play Safety section will let users know whether an app needs a particular data to function or whether users have a choice in sharing it. Also they will know whether an app’s safety section is verified by an independent third-party arbitrator and whether request data deletion post uninstallation is possible.

“If we find that a developer has misrepresented the data they’ve provided and is in violation of the policy, we will require the developer to fix it. Apps that don’t become compliant will be subject to policy enforcement,” Google said in a statement.

To provide Android developers more time to comply with the new policy, Google has said app builders will have time until Q2 2022 to gear up for the new policy.

Google’s policy move comes just a month after Apple introduced its privacy labels feature for iPhone users . The Cupertino-based company has received criticism from some tech and advertising firms, including Facebook , as the latest policy gives Apple more control over advertising revenues.