Our blog post earlier this month described Apple’s new Privacy Labels for apps. Since that post, Google has finally updated their Chrome web browser app and complied with the posting of a Privacy Label. So, what does Google’s Privacy Label tell us? Google is tracking a lot of information about us! We should all care about this.
Apple’s Privacy Labels
Apple’s Privacy Labels are required for any app sold through the App Store. The purpose of the labels is to provide users with clear information about how an app uses their data.
Apple has written an interesting look into the use of personal data, which they call A Day In the Life of Your Data. This document is an easy to understand view of why this data use matters.
Google’s Privacy Label
Google Chrome’s privacy label shows that Google tracks many different types of data that are all linked to the specific user. The next several images show this in more detail, including what the information is used for.
What should we do about it?
Many people feel that this data use is an inevitable part of our information age. For comparison, the next image is the privacy label for a different, web browser. The two apps provide the same functionality for the user, but place a very different emphasis on the users privacy. Another opinion is described in Forbes article – Why You Need to Stop Using Google Chrome.
SDM holds the opinion that each person should determine their own level of privacy concern. As long as people understand the tradeoffs and what a company is providing and getting in return, there is no absolute right or wrong answer.
If you have additional questions please call or email SDM. We are happy to discuss this or other matters of interest to you.