In the Data Security section developed for the Google Play Store, you can see the data collected by applications such as Instagram.
Meta, which owns Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, doesn’t have a bright track record in privacy and security. Last year, WhatsApp lost a significant amount of users after the decision to share user data with Facebook. The company was stuck with the regulations in many countries and had to withdraw the policy.
However, Meta has not been able to fully regain trust in its applications. In recent years, technology companies have started to take important steps in the collection and processing of user data. In this context, Google launched the new “Data Security” section developed for the Play Store.
Google Play Store gives the ropes to the user with ‘Data Security’
“We have heard from users and app developers that it is not enough to view the data an app collects without additional details,” said Google, adding that they wanted to know for what purpose people’s data was collected and whether the developer shared user data with third parties.
For this purpose, thanks to the Data Security section integrated into the Google Play Store, users will be able to learn in detail how the applications installed on the phone collect the data, how it secures it, and (if it does) with whom it is shared. Data Security will include the following information:
1-Whether the developer collects data and for what purpose
2-Whether the developer shares the data with third parties
3-Security methods of the application, such as encrypting the transferred data and whether users want the data to be deleted or not.
4-Whether an app is on the Play Store committed to complying with the Google Play Family Policy to better protect children
5-Whether the developer has validated their security practices against a global security standard (MASVS)
MASVS (Mobile Application Security Verification Standard), mentioned in the fifth article, is known as one of the most important standards that should be applied while developing mobile applications. According to Google, this standard determines the security criteria that applications must meet.
Deadline for developers is July 20
Google announced that until July 20, it is obliging developers to fill in the information in the Data Security section of the Play Store. Even if the apps do not collect any data from the user, they will need to indicate this. Otherwise, they will be subject to a sanctioning process that goes up to removal from the store.
