A new era in Apps privacy?

As of December 8, Apple requires developers to publish privacy labels for their apps.

Apple recently introduced a new privacy section in the App Store to inform users about some of the data types that apps may collect, and whether that data is linked to them or used to track them. Developers have been required to provide this info when submitting new apps and app updates to the App Store. The feature is part of Apple’s push to make developers be more transparent in the ways they collect and use user data, so users can make more informed choices about the apps they choose to download.

Some Developers such as Google are trying to delay the unveiling of its privacy labels for fear of bad press, it makes one wonder just how bad its privacy labels are going to be. Apps like Gmail, Chrome, and YouTube having last been updated on December 7, 2020 or prior. As a result, all Google apps still say "No Details Provided" under the new privacy section in the App Store The label can then be viewed on an app’s App Store listing page.

WhatsApp, the world’s leading messenger with 2 billion users sending 100 billion messages each day, popularized secure messaging. But if you’re one of the hundreds of millions using WhatsApp on an iPhone, you’re in for an unwelcome surprise when you see WhatsApp privacy update.

Concerns around WhatsApp metadata collection are not new. Take a spin through its privacy policy and you’ll see the scale of data it collects. Sometimes it’s not what we say that matters, it’s the when, the where and the who. Metadata (data about your data), is almost as powerful as the actual data. Who you know, who you message, when and how often. Who they know and message. What other activity can be tracked to your user ID? WhatsApp’s metadata is classed as “data linked to you”, means that “the data is collected in a way that is linked to your identity, such as to your account, your device or your details".

Facebook: a quick look at the privacy labels shows why privacy-conscious users might hesitate to download the app. Two sets of big icons provide an overview of the data the app collects, including “data used to track you,” and “data linked to you”.

The icons on the FB app listing show that the app uses contact info, identifiers, and other data to “track you,” or to help target ads on other apps and websites that Facebook doesn’t own. FB Facebook also collects a variety of data linked to your identity, according to its privacy label, including health and fitness data, purchases, location, and contacts. If users tap “See Details,” they’ll get a scary-looking accounting of what exact user data FB collects, and what it uses it for. That page reveals that FB uses “other financial information” and user content to target ads and collects “sensitive info” for its own analytics. The most memorable part of FB’s privacy label detail page is how long it is. It's pretty clear that FB is collecting a massive hoard of data about its billions of users.

Facebook Messenger’s privacy labels are horrifyingly long and I would recommend users to switch to an alternative.

How you feel about App’s data collection will depend on your personal viewpoint on data privacy. Whatever that might be, though, give some thought particularly around business messaging and shopping, as well as tighter integration with other Apps such as Messenger and Instagram.

While providing people with easy to read information is a good start, I believe it’s important people can double check these 'privacy nutrition' labels from apps they download and they use on a daily basis.

The question is: will you quit using any of these Apps?