The new Data Safety section within the Play app listings will provide users with an overview of not only the types of data collected by each app but how respective developers utilize the information taken in.
As per Google:
“We heard from users and app developers that displaying the data an app collects, without additional context, is not enough. Users want to know for what purpose their data is being collected and whether the developer is sharing user data with third parties. In addition, users want to understand how app developers are securing user data after an app is downloaded.”
The new Data Safety section prompts developers to mark and clearly declare what data is being collected and how it’s used. The section includes notes on the following:
Whether the developer is collecting data and for what purpose.
Whether the developer is sharing data with third parties.
The app’s security practices, like encryption of data in transit and whether users can ask for data to be deleted.
Whether a qualifying app has committed to following Google Play’s Families Policy to better protect children in the Play store.
Whether the developer has validated their security practices against a global security standard.
Developers are required to complete this section for their apps by July 20th, or risk penalties. They might also be unlisted from the marketplace for non-compliance. This marks the latest data transparency development in the market, following Apple’s ATT update fiasco. To top it off, Google is also planning to phase out third-party cookie tracking, which will see it move to alternate forms of ad targeting based on Topics, marking the next big shift. It’s likely that such a move will have a major impact on ad targeting accuracy.
The Wrap
Apple’s data transparency updates have certainly altered the landscape of digital advertising, rippling effects to be as drastic as costing Meta around $10 billion worth of lost ad revenue in 2022. However, it does make sense; – data has become a prime online currency and users should have adequate control over such, or at least the capacity to fully understand it.
This update, to some extent, provides just that – more control. Again, the impacts here aren’t so significant to advertisers, though they might just be enough to prompt some developers to scale back intrusive data collection protocols.
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