• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, December 7, 2020

Apple delayed its permission to track with an opt-in option until next year, but its requirements for app developers to add privacy nutrition labels and for publishers that capture and transmit to third parties go into effect December 8, 2020.

The goal aims to increase transparency around the types of data an app collects, and what happens to the data, according to Apple. The types of data range from names and email addresses, to health and fitness, as well as financial information.

Apple wants to ensure developers and publishers have a clear understanding of how each data type is used by you and your third-party partners.

For example, displaying third-party ads in an app, or sharing data with entities who display third-party ads. Or using data to evaluate user behavior like understanding the effectiveness of existing product features, plan new features, or measure audience size or characteristics.

The data-collection disclosures ask developers to report the categories of information collected by their apps. Each will need to provide the disclosures in App Store Connect, becoming mandatory for new app submissions and updates. Apple initially announced its initiative at the WWDC developer conference in the summer.

Publishers also need to report the data captured and transmitted to third-party partners like analytics tools, advertising networks, third-party SDKs, or external vendors whose code has been added to the app.

Apple says developers need to identify whether each data type is linked to the user’s identity through their account, device, or other details.

Data collected from an app is often linked to the user’s identity, unless specific privacy protections are put in place before collection to de-identify or anonymize it.

The list of Apple’s restrictions range from answering app privacy questions to data collection, types of data to tracking and privacy links.