The app permissions list was recently deleted from the Google Play Store for Android across both the mobile app and the web, but Google said on Thursday that it is going back on that decision.
According to a series of tweets from the Android Developers team, “Privacy and transparency are essential values in the Android community.” “We’ve decided to reintroduce the app permissions area in Google Play after hearing from you that you find it useful. Soon, the section describing app permissions will be returning.
To that aim, Google plans to emphasise all the permissions needed by the app in addition to showing the new Data safety section, which gives consumers a simplified review of an app’s data gathering, processing, and security procedures.
The move to replace the apps permission section with the newer Data safety labels, which require developers to provide information about “how they collect and handle user data for the apps they publish on Google Play,” comes as the internet giant moved to do so last week ahead of the enforcement deadline of July 20, 2022.
But a quick look reveals that there is still no data safety area in programmes like Tor Browser, Discord, and those from Amazon, including its own Kindle app, Alexa, Amazon Music, and Amazon Photos.
The new approach also has its own set of issues because it totally depends on the developers to provide “complete and accurate statements,” which could result in situations where it is wrong or outright deceptive.
The list of permissions for an app, in contrast, is obtained from the developer’s declarations of those permissions in the manifest file.
It’s important to note that the Apple App Store has a comparable policy for its privacy “nutrition” labels that permits developers to highlight “self-reported summaries of some of their privacy practises.” However, this approach, according to a report from The Washington Post, “falls short of being helpful.”
However, Google says in its support materials that if it encounters instances where an app’s behaviour and its declaration are inconsistent, it may take the proper enforcement action.
