Starting with iOS 14.3, Apple mandated that every developer publish information about what data its apps collect from users (see “Apple Unveils Stringent Disclosure and Opt-in Privacy Requirements for Apps,” 7 January 2021). That information is presented in the App Privacy section in App Store listings. Some data-driven developers have been more willing to go along than others—Facebook updated its app right away, at least acknowledging that it records and uses every possible fact about you, likely including what you sing in the shower. In contrast, Google has dragged its feet, only recently beginning to update some of its iOS apps with privacy labels.
Knowing that it has nothing to hide, given that its business model doesn’t rely on capturing highly personal user data, Apple had no issue publishing data privacy labels for all of its iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS apps in their respective App Stores. New, however, is a Web page that collects the privacy labels for all of Apple’s apps. We’ve never heard of some of these apps before, but now that we know about it, we’re anxious to see if Reality Composer is where Apple gets its distortion field without Steve Jobs at the helm (it’s actually an app for creating augmented reality objects).
