With the objective of elevating privacy and security for online users, Google has adopted a policy to enable apps to provide for a mandatory data safety section and a privacy policy. The data safety section will enable developers to transparently show users if and how they collect, share, and protect user data, before users install an app.
The feature will be launched in February 2022, and by April 2022, all Apps on the Google Play Console must have their data safety section approved and should also have a privacy policy in place.
It is recommended that Apps begin evaluating their data privacy practices and submit the data safety forms starting now, so that Google can review and send in its feedback well before the April 2022 deadline. Non-compliant apps may face additional enforcement actions in the future.
The Policy also states that without an approved section or privacy policy, new app submissions or app updates may be rejected.
