Earlier this year, Google announced that it would introduce a new data privacy section (Data Safety) in the Play Store to show how apps collect and handle user data, compared to what apps now show in the Play Store. Permission list, Data Safety can display richer information.
Data Safety in the Google Play Store is similar to the App Privacy feature currently featured in the iOS 14 app store, which displays a developer-provided list of privacy considerations that show what data an app collects and how it is stored , and with whom this data is shared. In contrast, the new Data Safety is better than the previous list of only permissions, where developers need to explain the reasons for collecting each type of data.
However, since the new Data Safety is the content submitted by the developers themselves, the authenticity of the content cannot be guaranteed, and it is entirely up to the developers themselves. Instead, the old app permission list was automatically built by Google by scanning the app, which guarantees its authenticity.
Although Google has not indicated any plans to replace the currently automatically generated app permissions with Data Safety, some users have carefully checked the details pages of some apps in the store and found that Google has quietly removed the permission list of some apps.
Google explains how this system works:
The developer is responsible for making complete and accurate claims about the app. Google Play reviews apps for all policy requirements; however, we cannot make judgments on behalf of developers about how they handle user data. Only the developer has all the information needed to complete the data security form. If Google discovers any discrepancies between the information reported by the developer and the app itself, we will take "appropriate action" on the app.
The amount of malware in the Google Play Store is significantly higher than that in the Apple App Store. From time to time, it happens that applications maliciously collect user information and steal user privacy. If this information is allowed to be provided only by developers without strict review, it may further aggravate the deterioration of the Android ecosystem. From a security standpoint, it might be better if Google could combine the two systems (Google generates a list of permissions and lets developers describe how each permission is used).
According to Google's official support page , developers need to submit by July 20 for their apps how they collect and process user data for their apps published on Google Play, and detail how they are protected by security measures such as encryption These data.