Google Play Store will now show you how apps collect and share your data

Google Play Store is getting a new privacy feature that’ll make downloading new apps more transparent.

Starting today, you will see a “data safety” section for each app on the Play Store. Similar to Apple’s Privacy Nutrition Label, this new section will include information about the data apps collect and share. You’ll also be able to see what steps developers are taking to secure your personal data.

Google has mandated developers to complete the data safety section for their apps by July 20, 2022. So if you don’t see it for a particular app, you’ll do so in the next few weeks.

Developers will also be required to update the section if they change the functionality of their app or their data handling practices.

“Users want to know for what purpose their data is being collected and whether the developer is sharing user data with third parties. In addition, users want to understand how app developers are securing user data after an app is downloaded. That’s why we designed the data safety section to allow developers to clearly mark what data is being collected and for what purpose it’s being used,” Google wrote in a blog post announcing the new feature.

What will the new data safety section contain?

Below is the list of information developers can show in the data safety section:

• 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 to better protect children in the Play Store.
• Whether the developer has validated their security practices against a global security standard.

The new data safety section adds to Google’s continued efforts toward enhancing user safety. Android 12 also introduced some impactful privacy changes that gave users more power over app permissions in the form of the new Privacy Dashboard as well as mic and camera indicators. All-in-all, Google seems to be headed in the right direction as far as app safety is concerned.