Google announced it would begin this week the updating of its iOS apps with privacy details after reports surfaced the company has not done so since December of last year.
Technology and search engine giant Google today announced it would start updating its iOS apps with privacy details this week. The Mountain View-based company made the announcement after reports surface that it did not implement privacy detail updates to its iOS apps. In December, Apple required all developers to provide privacy details to their iOS apps so users will know what data do developers use to track users, the data they link to the users, and data not linked to them.
#macsecurity | #operatingsystem | Google says it will update its iOS apps with privacy details beginning this week https://t.co/kKBLV6YjLF — National Cyber Security (@NcsVentures) January 6, 2021
During Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June last year, the company promised to provide users more transparency in iOS app data collection. Apple said that with "nutrition label" privacy disclosures, users would know more about the app they are using. Last year, the company informed developers their apps need to have privacy details on or before December 8, otherwise, they might lose the ability to update their apps. Recently, online media outlet FastCompany reported that Google has not updated any of its iOS apps with privacy details despite Apple's warning that failure to do so runs the risk of being unable to provide updates to their apps. After FastCompany's report surfaced, Google announced it would begin updating its iOS apps with privacy details this week.
In the spirit of transparency, Apple required all developers to fill out privacy reports containing all information on the personal data accessed by an iOS app. These include contacts, photos, browsing history, location, and many more. In the case of Google, however, FastCompany reported that the search engine giant stopped providing updates to its iOS apps a day before Apple implemented its new App Store policy. As a result, not one of Google's iOS apps has privacy details as required by Apple. That is set to change soon as Google already announced it would start the updating of its iOS apps with privacy details starting this week.
Google debunked earlier reports suggesting it was avoiding Apple's required App Store privacy labels. According to the Mountain View company, it failed to accomplish the task because of the holidays and that most of its staff were already off in mid-December. Google then announced it would start updating their iOS apps with privacy details beginning this week. A spokesperson for the company denied Google is skirting the App Store's new rules, adding that it plans to add privacy details across its app catalog as soon as the holidays are over.
