Google Implements New Account Deletion Policy for Android Apps

Google announced its new account deletion policy for Android apps that offer account creation, stating that these apps must have an easy way to delete accounts. The policy is expected to be enforced early next year, and it follows the footsteps of Apple, which implemented a similar policy in June 2022 for App Store apps.

According to Google, developers must answer questions regarding their app’s data deletion in the Data Safety form by December 7. The developer responses in the form are reflected in Google Play’s Data Safety section, which provides users with information about an app’s data collection practices in the form of labels.

In order to comply with the policy, developers must provide an option to initiate account and data deletion from within the app and online, and the feature should be easily discoverable. Furthermore, developers must delete user data from their servers on account deletion unless they need to keep user data for specific reasons, such as security, fraud prevention, or regulatory compliance.

Google said that it will tweak the Data Safety section on the Play Store to better reflect the data controls available to users. Users will start seeing data deletion badges on Google Play on apps that have completed their forms and modified their code to allow account deletion sometime early next year.

Google is providing an extended grace period until May 31, 2024, for developers who might need more time to implement this new policy. However, they will need to explicitly apply for it through the Google Play console.

Overall, Google's new policy seeks to provide users with greater control over their data, making it easier to delete accounts and associated data from apps. It will be interesting to see how developers respond to this new policy and how it will affect the Android app ecosystem.