More Mobile Apps Disclose Privacy Policies

Mobile app developers are increasingly disclosing their privacy policies regarding the collection of personal information, a new study by the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) shows.

“This study concludes that app developers have begun to heed the call for privacy policies,” the FPF stated.

In the June 2012 FPF Mobile Apps Study, the FPF found that developers of free apps are more likely to disclose their privacy policies than paid apps.  The study compared the apps that had privacy policies in June 2012 to those in September 2011.  “Compared to the September 2011 FPF Mobile Apps Survey, there is a significant improvement across both the iOS App Store and Android Google Play Store over the last 8 months,” the study found.  For Apple OS-based free apps, the number with privacy policies increased to 84 percent from 40 percent.  For Android-based free apps, the increase was to 76 percent from 70 percent.  For Apple paid apps, privacy policies were disclosed for 64 percent of the apps, up slightly from 60 percent in the previous study.  Android paid apps increased to 48 percent from 30 percent.

“Mobile apps can capture a slew of highly personal information including location, address books, photos, texts, emails, social network/relationships, and calendar items.  Past studies have shown that there is substantial room for improvement in providing users with notice and transparency with regard to how apps collect, store, and use their data,” the study stated.

The FPF observed that a small number of apps have started to include a short form notice privacy policy.  “A hyperlink to the full detailed privacy policy is usually provided within the short form notice.  Short form notice can be better for consumers because it is easier and quicker to read than the entire privacy policy, especially on a small device, such as a smart phone.”

The study reviewed the top 25 free and top 25 paid apps for each platform.  The FPF noted that both Apple and Android Google Play Store each average over one billion app downloads a month.