Apple will require privacy “nutrition labels” from developers starting December 8



[ad_1]

Apple unveiled a collection of privacy features when it announced iOS 14, but the company’s privacy “nutrition label” concept didn’t come with the new operating system’s launch in September. Today, Apple announced that developers will have to provide information for those “tags” starting December 8.

Like a regular nutrition label listing ingredients and calorie content, these privacy “labels” should give you a better idea of ​​what’s going on inside an app before downloading it from the iOS App Store or Mac App Store. . The labels will list the information collected by an app and present it visually on the app page, just like looking at the back of the labels in a grocery store.

A mockup of an iPhone showing App Store labels
Image: Apple

The problem, of course, is that while developers have to disclose this information in order to continue launching and updating applications, any information provided by the developers will be self-reported, which may still leave some room for the missing touch.

Apple’s developer site advises developers to disclose all information collected by them and their third-party partners and to keep their “tags” up to date. For example, if an application needs to know its precise location to work, it will recognize it even before downloading it. If the app’s GPS functionality is removed, a new tag will need to reflect it. Apple offers some exceptions when these tag disclosures are optional, but the important thing to know is that if an app is constantly trying to track you, you’ll know before it’s on your phone.

Providing this information is an easier-to-digest way to keep users informed of exactly how their phone is being used to track them. Apple already aggressively manages permissions within apps, but these tags could be an even earlier line of defense. Developers can start submitting app information now before the December 8 deadline.

[ad_2]
Source link