Apple Starts Rolling Out Privacy Labels on App Store, Will Rely on Community Reports for Verification

Apple Starts Rolling Out Privacy Labels on App Store, Will Rely on Community Reports for Verification

© Provided by News18 Apple Starts Rolling Out Privacy Labels on App Store, Will Rely on Community Reports for Verification

Apple is now rolling out its new privacy policy that includes apps to be listed with a label that tells users about the data it is collecting. Apple announced the new privacy labels earlier this year, and now it is rolling out the changes, meaning upcoming apps will show the privacy label, allowing users to make a more informed decision. Apple's decision to include these labels have been criticized by many as saying that the company is monopolizing user privacy instead of protecting it. Apple has also said that the labels will be an easy-to-use summary of developers' self-reported privacy practices.

The Cupertino-based giant also promised that it will manually review reports of apps that do not reveal their data collection practices properly. The company also updated its privacy page, which now talks about user data and promises an easy-to-read summary of an app's data collection practices. "We are now starting to publish this information for users across all our platforms. This reporting of privacy processes is part of the app submission for all users, including Apple for its own apps," an Apple executive said during a virtual briefing.

Earlier this month, WhatsApp criticized Apple's move, saying that the policies are unfair as Apple's pre-installed services like iMessage are not covered under the new policy. Apple, however, responded by saying that all of its apps will also get labels on the web if they are not listed on the App Store.

The App Store labels will show the type of data an app is collecting, and whether it will be used to track the user. Developers can create and update labels on the developer portal, where they can simply fill a form that contains all the information they can fill, and this will be displayed on their app's App Store listing. The Apple executive said in the virtual briefing that the information is not going to be verified by Apple, and will rely on community reports.