Google Play to offer Apple App Store like privacy feature – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Taking a cue from Apple, tech giant Google has announced that next year it will start displaying the data and information collected by apps on the Google Play Store. The company will display the information in a new safety section in their listing. The company decided to do so in order to offer transparency and protect the privacy of the user.
This announcement from Google comes months after Apple started displaying the same information in the App Store. Both third party and first-party apps will have to provide the required information.

In an official blog post, Google mentions, “The 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.”
Google also revealed that the section will have information about what type of data is collected and stored: Examples of potential options are approximate or precise location, contacts, personal information (e.g. name, email address), photos & videos, audio files, and store files.
“Google Play will introduce a policy that requires developers to provide accurate information. 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,” the company said.
All apps on Google Play – including Google’s own apps – will be required to share this information and provide a privacy policy. The company also said that starting Q2 2022, new app submissions and app updates must include this information.