Google Play will tell Android smartphone users what data apps are collecting from them

  • Android app developers will have until second quarter of 2022 to comply
  • The transparency push echoes Apple’s recent user tracking policy

A woman takes a picture in front of the logo of Google as she visits the Vivatech start-ups and innovation fair in Paris, France, on May 16, 2019. Photo: AFP

Google said it will create a new safety section in its Play mobile-app store that will let Android smartphone users see what data developers collect about them and share, plus give access to additional privacy and security information.

Android app developers have until the second quarter of 2022 to declare this information, the Alphabet Inc. unit said Thursday in a blog post. Users will begin seeing the safety section in Google Play sometime in the first three months of 2022.

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