Inconsistencies were found in the Google Play Store’s data protection label in apps such as Twitter and Facebook. , Photo Credit: Reuters
Data privacy labels for most top apps in the Google Play Store are false or misleading, with nearly 80% of reviewed apps reporting discrepancies, a study by Mozilla shared.
The Google Play Store’s data protection labels show that apps like Facebook or Twitter do not share users’ personal data with third parties, however, the privacy policies of the apps clearly state that they do not share personal data with advertisers, internet providers, platforms, and many others. Kinds of companies share user information with, shared reports.
The study found that data privacy labels were false or misleading based on discrepancies between the app’s privacy policies and the information app itself, which was reported on a Google data protection form.
The study compared the privacy policies and labels of 20 Most Popular Paid Apps and the 20 most popular free apps on the Google Play Store. It graded 40% of reviewed apps “bad” due to major inconsistencies in their data protection forms, including Minecraft, Twitter and Facebook.
(For today’s top technology news, subscribe for our tech newsletter Today Cash)
37.5% of apps including YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, WhatsApp Messenger, TikTok and Instagram were rated “Needs Improvement” and only 15% of apps including Candy Crush Saga, Google Play Games and others got an “OK” rating. Because their privacy policies are closely tied to their disclosures. While the three apps, UC Browser – Safe, Fast, Private; league of stickman action; And Terraria didn’t fill out the form.
Flaws in data protection forms make it easy for apps to provide false information. and, google absolves itself of responsibility for verifying the information provided by apps in their data protection labels, stating that apps are “responsible for making complete and accurate declarations” in their data protection labels.
The study also concluded that the Google Play Store’s data protection labels failed to help consumers make more informed choices about their privacy before purchasing or downloading apps from the platform.
”Consumers care about privacy and want to make smart decisions when downloading apps. Google has data protection labels They should be helped to do this. Unfortunately, they don’t. Instead, I worry that they do more harm than good,” said Jen Caltrider, project lead at Mozilla.