Creating an account for a mobile app can be easy, but not so much when it comes to deleting one. However, Google is working on a solution.
On Wednesday, the company announced that “apps that allow for app account creation” through Google Play must also include an account and data deletion option both in their Android apps and through their websites.
The change promises to make it easy to stop an idle app from owning your personal information. The account deletion option will also be available in web form through the Google Play Store, eliminating the need to reinstall an Android app to delete the information.
The company previewed the change in an image showing an app listing in the Google Play Store with a button that says “Account deletion available.” Clicking on the section will take you to a new tab that gives you direct links to the developer’s website for deleting and cleaning accounts.
“By creating a more intuitive experience with this policy, we hope to better educate our mutual users about the data controls available to them and to inspire greater confidence in your apps and in Google Play in general,” the company wrote (Will be published in a new window opened ) in a blog post.
“As the new policy states, if you comply with a request to delete an account, you must also delete the data associated with that account,” Google added. “The feature also gives developers the ability to provide more choices: users who may not want to fully delete their account can delete other data only when applicable.”
The new requirement follows Apple, which also began forcing iOS developers to add an account deletion feature in their apps last June. The same feature will also delete all user data associated with the deleted account.
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Like Apple, Google is giving app makers time to implement the upcoming requirement before the changes roll out. The company informed developers, “Early next year, Google Play users will start seeing changes in your app’s Store Listing, including the updated Data Wipe badge in the Data Security section and the new Data Wipe section.”
Developers have until December 7 to submit the required data erasure details, although they can also request an extension until May 31, 2024. Google also notes that although they offer the account and data deletion options, app developers can retain certain user data. However, the data must be retained for legitimate reasons “such as security, fraud prevention or regulatory compliance” and the practices must be disclosed to the user.
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