Commentary

Study: Most App Privacy Policies Muddle Explanations

Most apps aren't doing a good job of explaining their privacy practices, according to a new study  issued by a worldwide organization of regulators.

For the report, the Global Privacy Enforcement Network examined 1,211 apps. Eighty-five percent of those apps didn't clearly explain how they collected, used, or disclosed people's information, according to the organization, which includes the Federal Trade Commission.

What's more, almost half of the apps (43%) didn't offer privacy policies optimized for mobile screens. In some cases, the information was presented in print too small to be read; in others, the policies required users to scroll through numerous pages.

Researchers also found that almost one in three apps (31%) appeared to ask for permission to access more information than was needed.

In the U.S. the proportion of popular apps with privacy policies appears to have increased in recent years. A July 2012 study by the think tank Future of Privacy Forum found that 53% of the most popular paid apps contained privacy policies, up from 26% the year before.

One factor that might have contributed to the increase is that California Attorney General Kamala Harris said in 2012 that she believes mobile app developers must follow California's Online Privacy Protection Act. That law requires online companies to post privacy policies if they collect "personally identifiable information" about state residents.

Of course, just because an app has a privacy policy doesn't mean the policy is a good one -- or that it will be understandable. In fact, earlier this year the FTC criticized developers of mobile shopping apps for offering privacy policies that didn't adequately explain their practices. “Many disclosures used vague language, reserving broad rights to collect, use and share consumer information,” the FTC wrote in that report. “Such disclosures preserve broad rights, but fail to achieve what should be the central purpose of any privacy policy -- making clear how data is collected, used, and shared.”

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