As part of Google’s effort to make the internet safer for you while browsing on your Android device, the Google Safe Browsing team is putting up more safeguards so that websites don’t get to install unwanted apps on your device. Google Safe Browsing will now show warnings on apps – and even on websites leading to app installations – for apps that collect a user’s personal data without consent.
There are apps that need personal user data (such as user phone number or email), or device data (MAC addresses, device name, model, and model number). These will now be required to prompt users and to provide their own privacy policy in the app. Also, if these apps collect personal data unrelated to the functionality of the app – the developers must highlight this prior to collection and transmission, so the user knows how the data will be used. The user must provide consent for all of these.
The Google Safe Browsing team is putting this requirement up on Google Play, and even on non-Google Play markets. This way, users can be protected even when they browse to websites that provide app installation. The warnings should help users to know that there might be possible dangers ahead.
The Safe Browsing team is giving developers 60 days to update their apps towards this direction. In 60 days, these safeguards will be in place. All of the sake of safer internet, thanks Google.
SOURCE: Google
This and Google is adding HDR to Chrome. Google owns the browser space yet keeps pushing and adding new valuable functionality. This is the biggest difference with MS of the past and Google today. Google wins but keeps pushing and adding great things. Search is the best example with Google completely dominating search but just keeps adding great stuff to make it better.