Peter A Clarke

The Information Commissioner’s Office in Global survey finds 85% of mobile apps fail to provide basic privacy information again highlights the generally lamentable approach most mobile apps towards the use of private information.  This is but the latest in a long line of reports about the weaknesses of mobile apps in both privacy protection and informing users what will be done with their personal information.  Given many mobile apps require personal information to properly function this is a real problem and one regulators have highlighted in the past but not been particularly effective in taking action.  The Federal Trade Commission has had a number of high profile actions against mobile app providers but that is more the exception than the rule.

The ICO’s media release provides:

A survey of over 1,200 mobile apps by 26 privacy regulators from across the world has shown that a high number of apps are accessing large amounts of personal information without adequately explaining how people’s information is being used.

The survey by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) examined the privacy information provided by 1,211 mobile apps. As a member of GPEN, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office examined 50 of the top apps released by UK developers.

Today GPEN has published the results of its research. The key findings are:

 

	85% of the apps surveyed failed to clearly explain how they were collecting, using and disclosing personal information.
	More than half (59%) of the apps left users struggling to find basic privacy information.
	Almost 1 in 3 apps appeared to request an excessive number of permissions to access additional personal information.
	43% of the apps failed to tailor privacy communications to the small screen, either by providing information in a too small print, or by hiding the information in lengthy privacy policies that required scrolling or clicking through multiple pages. .

The research did find examples of good practice, with some apps providing a basic explanation of how personal information is being used, including links to more detailed information if the individual wants to know more. The regulators were also impressed by the use of just-in-time notifications on certain apps that informed users of the potential collection, or use, of personal data as it was about to happen. These approaches make it easier for people to understand how their information is being used and when.

ICO Group Manager for Technology, Simon Rice, said:

“Apps are becoming central to our lives, so it is important we understand how they work and what they are doing with our information. Today’s results show that many app developers are still failing to provide this information in a way that is clear and understandable to the average consumer.

“The ICO and the other GPEN members will be writing out to those developers where there is clear room for improvement. We will also be publishing guidance to explain the steps people can take to help protect their information when using mobile apps.”

The ICO has published ‘Privacy in Mobile Apps’ guidance to help app developers in the UK handle people’s information correctly and meet their requirements under the UK Data Protection Act. The guidance includes advice on informing people how their information will be used. Research carried out last year to support the guidance’s launch showed that 49% of app users have decided not to download an app due to privacy concerns.

The Guardian also reports on the ICO’s media release in Information commissioner: ‘apps are failing to respect user privacy’  which provides:

Most mobile app developers are failing to clearly explain how they are collecting, using and disclosing personal information, according to a study by the pan-governmental Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN).

Of the 1,200 apps surveyed, 85% failed to disclose how they used information, while 59% of the apps “left users struggling to find basic privacy information”, the organisation said.

Simon Rice, the group manager for technology at Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office, which is a member of the GPEN, said: “Today’s results show that many app developers are still failing to provide this information in a way that is clear and understandable to the average consumer.

“The ICO and the other GPEN members will be writing to those developers where there is clear room for improvement. We will also be publishing guidance to explain the steps people can take to help protect their information when using mobile apps.”

The report found that almost one in three mobile apps “appeared to request an excessive number of permissions to access additional personal information” despite ICO guidance for mobile app developers that requires personal data be processed “fairly” and “lawfully”.

“For processing to be fair, the user must have suitable information about the processing and they must to be told about the purposes,” the organisation warns. “Fairness is also about using information in ways that people would reasonably expect.”

Long lists of permission requests are becoming increasingly common when users download apps. In August, Facebook experienced a backlash after it made its Messenger app mandatory for users in the US, requiring a long list of permissions for the Android version including access to audio recordings, photos and videos, phone numbers, text messages and contacts, as well as almost thirty other functions.

The reaction was so fierce that the company posted an explanation of why it requested so many permissions, arguing that because “Android controls the way the permissions are named… the way they’re named doesn’t necessarily reflect how the Messenger app and other apps use them”.

The ICO says it will not share the names of the apps that failed its tests at this time.