Big change ahead for the Play Store: Android users will have more awareness of app data protection before installing them.
From October through April next year, Google and developers will lay the groundwork for the Play Store of the future, more secure and privacy-conscious than ever before. Big G wants to make the virtual app store a place that informs patrons, app by app, how and what data is collected, what security practices are in place, and how privacy is managed.
Developers will be able to submit their first security sheets as early as October, but still Google has given time until April 2022; just before that, during the first quarter of next year, the first sheets will begin to populate the descriptions of apps available on the Play Store. Google’s goal is to offer Android users a preview of privacy and security policies as well as to list the data collected, before the user installs the app and starts using it. In the app section of those apps that don’t have the full tab at first, a “No information available” message will be displayed, while those apps that don’t comply with the new guidelines could be blocked, Google warned.
How the new Play Store tabs will look
The screenshots distributed by Google in the past few hours give a handy preview of what it will look like, though Mountain View has pointed out that the final look and layout may be different.
The new tab will be displayed before the “Ratings and Reviews” section and will contain a summary of everything related to data usage and security elements, including the type of data collected by apps and, possibly, whether it’s encrypted.
There will also be an option to get more information about why an app needs certain data and whether you can deny consent to that practice while still using the app.
The steps towards greater attention to privacy
The arrival on the Play Store of this additional stimulus that can make Android users aware of the protection of their privacy and the security of their personal data, of which smartphones have become a real safe, was anticipated last May at the Google I/O developer event, following which Google also released a roadmap to mark the steps towards the debut.
The policy outline and guidelines were made available to developers during July, while in October there will be the first concrete step toward increased privacy on the Play Store and consequently on the green robot’s operating system.
In the first quarter of 2022, so from January to March 2022, Android users will start to notice the first privacy tabs in the descriptions of apps in the Play Store, while in April 2022 there will be a deadline for developers to submit all the necessary information for already published apps.