February 23, 2023 By Jonathan Greig
Nearly four out every five apps in Google’s Play Store are not accurately reporting how they handle user data despite filling out required forms intended to increase transparency, researchers have found.
Mozilla researchers analyzed the 40 most popular free and paid apps and how their data collection policies line up with what was disclosed on Google’s Data Safety Forms.
According to the researchers, there were so many significant discrepancies between the apps’ own privacy policies and the information provided on Google’s forms that they believe “the apps aren’t self-reporting accurately enough to give the public any meaningful reassurance about the safety and privacy of their data.”
