Apple introduced privacy labels for listings on the App Store late in 2020. Now, rival Big Tech firm Google has mimicked privacy labels in the form of a new “Data safety” section for each app on the Play Store. At heart, the search giant’s intention is similar to Apple’s — to give Android users more information about the data collected by the apps they use.

Google first announced the plan to add a Data safety section in May 2021. At the time, the company said that developers would be required to provide information about what information they collect and how they use, secure, and share it.

The company has specified that developers of all the apps listed on the Google Play Store need to provide the following information for their offerings by May 20:

• Whether or not the developer is collecting data and the purpose of collection.
• Whether or not the data is being shahid with third parties.
• Security practices in place to safeguard the user data when in transit.
• Whether or not users can ask for their data to be deleted.
• Whether or not the app in question adheres to the Google Play Families Policy to safeguard children on the Play Store.
• Whether or not the developer’s security practices have been validated against a global standard known as the Mobile AppSpec Verification Standard (MASVS).

Based on the data in the new Data safety section, Google hopes Android users will be able to make a more informed decision when they think about downloading an app.

Do you think Google has merely introduced the new section aping Apple, or does it intend to benefit users genuinely? Tell us in the comments section.