Android apps will need to let users delete their accounts and data

Soon, Android apps that let you make an account will also have to let you delete the account and its data from both the app and website.

According to a blog post on the Android Developers Blog (via Engadget), Google hopes to create “a more intuitive experience” and ” better educate our shared users on the data controls available to them.”

Along with providing the option to delete your account and data, developers will need to wipe data for an account when users request the account be deleted. And the web requirements are intended to help ensure users don’t need to reinstall an app just to delete their account.

The policy won’t come into effect right away, though. According to the blog, developers will have until December 7th to answer questions about data deletion in apps’ safety forms, and Play Store listing will start showing the changes in early 2024. Developers can also file for an extension until May 31st, 2023.

It’s worth noting Apple made a similar change with the App Store a couple of months ago.

The move to require account and data deletion is part of a wider concern about privacy violations and, as Engadget notes, perhaps a response to growing regulatory efforts in the U.S. to give consumers control over accounts and services (though that might focus more on subscriptions).

Source: Android Developers Blog Via: Engadget