As of December 8th, Apple requires iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS developers to publish privacy labels for their apps as they’e updated. Currently, the last time Google updated any of its iOS apps was December 7th.
Michael Grothaus for Fast Compnany:
Not a single one of Google’s iOS apps have been updated in almost a month — an unusually long period for a tech behemoth not to release, at the very least, even a minor bug fix or stability update… As for why Google might be trying to delay revealing its privacy label information, it’s possible the company saw all the bad press Facebook got when the social media giant was forced to reveal all the ways its apps track users, and the press and social media reactions spooked the company. Facebook Messenger’s privacy labels are horrifyingly long, for example.
For anyone following along, iOS 14 now requires apps to have a “nutrition label” of sorts in regard to what data they collect on you. (This is a good thing) This is facebooks. #privacy #apple #facebook pic.twitter.com/IxKo7sPQjm
— Stu (@Kuja_Stu) December 16, 2020
Google has now confirmed to TechCrunch that their iOS apps will finally be updated as of this week.
Like other large companies, Google goes on a code freeze in late December through early January, so as not to cause major issues with its products and services over the holidays when staff is out…
Of course, none of this is to say that app privacy labels aren’t a concern for Google, given its primary business is advertising. In fact, they’re being taken quite seriously — with execs attending meetings to discuss that sort of thing.
Reached for comment, a Google spokesperson confirmed the company has a plan to add privacy labels across its app catalog. They also confirmed the labels are expected to begin rolling out as soon as this week or next week, though an exact date is not yet available.
MacDailyNews Take: Like Facebook’s, Google’s privacy disclosure labels might be better presented in book form.
This is a great example of how Apple takes material action to provide consumers with greater control and privacy protection. Apple may not be perfect, but the company has consistently worked to promote consumer privacy rights and consumer control over their data.
Lumping Apple in with Facebook and Google and Amazon, as Congress has repeatedly done in its attacks on big tech, shows a true lack of understanding of the situation. Let me be clear – Apple is a corporation and, as such, is only as good as its leadership in terms of morality and ethics. But the Apple corporate culture was built around customer experience, not customer exploitation, and the company has consistently maintained its focus on consumer privacy rights during the age of the internet. I trust Apple far more than any other tech company, and with good reason.
Very well stated Mel !