Google announced a new account deletion policy for Android apps today, meaning apps that offer account creation should also have an easy way to delete the account. The company said it will begin enforcing this policy early next year. This move follows Apple, which implemented a similar policy for apps in the App Store on June 30, 2022.
The company said it will ask developers to answer questions about deleting data from their app in the Data Safety form before Dec. 7. The developer’s responses in the form are reflected in the Data Safety section of Google Play, which provides users with information about an app’s data collection. practices in the form of labels.
Google said that with this new policy, the company will adjust the Data Safety section in the Play Store to better reflect the available data controls. The search giants said that sometime early next year, users will see data deletion badges on Google Play on apps that have filled out their forms and modified their code to allow for account deletion.
Image Credits: Google
The search giant said apps should provide “an option to initiate account and data deletion from within the app and online” and that the feature should be easy to find. In addition, the policy also requires developers to delete user data from their servers when deleting their account. If a developer needs to retain user data for specific reasons, they must specify that in the app.
“As the new policy states, when you comply with a request to delete an account, you must also delete the data associated with that account. The feature also gives developers a way to provide more choice: users who may not want to delete their account entirely can choose to delete only other data where appropriate (such as activity history, images, or videos). For developers who need to retain certain data for legitimate reasons, such as security, fraud prevention, or regulatory compliance, you must disclose these data retention practices,” Google said in its announcement.
The company offers an extended grace period until May 31, 2024 for developers who may need some time to implement. But they have to explicitly request it through the Google Play console.