Understanding Apple’s App Store Privacy Labels: What You Need to Disclose

Apple App Store privacy labels have become a non-negotiable for getting your app approved — and your compliance strategy may be the reason you’re getting blocked.

Introduction:

What if you could totally change the game and launch an app with full transparency? Unfortunately, the only thing hindering your app’s success is Apple’s new privacy rules. Can you manage constant adjusting of requirements and find ways to make your app’s privacy disclosures work in your favor?

What are Apple’s App Store Privacy Labels?

Apple’s privacy labels are intended to help increase transparency regarding the apps you download. However, these new privacy policies were create within the context of a new policy they are releasing, transparency within the host of their new App Store privacy policies. They are represented in the App Store listing pages in easy to read-blocks, outlining your app’s overall data collection and sharing practices.

How do the labels work?

Developers must disclose the different types of data and information their apps will access, and if it will be shared with third parties. Are you tracking users’ location data? Are you accessing contacts, or browser history? What is the purpose: personalization, advertising, or analytic purposes?

Apple’s system has custom bundles for comparison feature defined by words such as Location, Contacts, Browsing, Identifiers.

Why has apple done this?

Apple concentrating on transparency surrounding its data collection for business empowerment, users. Apple, from a business perspective, assumes privacy transparency benefits collection as a competitive market differentiator. Giving users data collection transparency instills trust. This trust compoundingly increases downloads, improves feedback ratings, and fosters business growth. Statista indicates heightened prioritization, and privacy has become a dominant factor for decision-making in ~75% privacy is a top factor for app choice for USA users.

What Data Should You Disclose?

This is critical. Non-disclosure or vague disclosure risks rejection and or removal from the app store, here is a step by step.

Your Data Collection Points Exercise

Identifying every location in your application is essential to understanding how users are collected –

• Collecting personal data (name, email)
• Collecting behavioral data (in some app activity, websites browsered)
• Collecting device identifiers (AD, IP address)
• Collecting payment information (ApplePay, other third party modules)

Counting third party SDKs is vital, developers often neglect to recognize how their data collection requires disclosure, sdk data collection from facebook and other third party analytics is often forgotten.

Be Direct About Purpose of Data Usage

For every data point, identify the exact purpose of your data collection:

• Personalization: “to provide tailored content and recommendations”
• Analytics: “to analyze the performance of the app”
• Advertising: “to serve targeted advertisements”
• Internal Improvements: “to identify and resolve internal errors”

Use simple terms and straightforward language. For example, “We collect the zip code to provide offers available in the area” communicates better than “Objective: Location-based Targeting.”

Be Transparent About Data Sharing With Third Parties

When your app shares data with others, whether advertisers, analytics service providers, or business partners, you are required to declare this and state who and for what purpose. Be clear and do your homework on what SDKs and services do with the data they collect.

Complying with Apple’s Disclosures for Privacy Labeling

Disclosures Process

• Data Collection Audit: Provide a comprehensive list of what your app collects, shares, or collects and shares through other services (SDKs).
• Data Type Classification: For each data type, assign a label according to Apple’s schema: “Location”, “Contacts”, “Browsing”, “Identifiers”, etc.
• Complete Apple’s App Store Connect:
  • Access App Store Connect
  • Select the app version you are working on
  • Provide information in the “App Privacy” section with accurate information to the best of your knowledge and with full details
• Verification of Disclosures: Make sure to retrieve Apple’s internal review instruments to validate the claims made in the disclosures and ensure the disclosures you made in the system are the same as the ones made in the system.
• Ongoing Maintenance: Every time you deploy new SDKs or data practices change, your disclosures must reflect those changes—Apple anticipates you will maintain the accuracy on a continuous basis.

Added Content:

• Updated Privacy Policy. With just a few clicks from your dashboard on Twinr, your privacy policy is updated.
• Up-to-date disclosure overview. With Twinr, every integration automatically updates the overall overview dashboard, meaning your overall disclosure is updated alongside the individual updates.

No-code integration means every admin on Twinr can integrate code-free. Every active admin can integrate an SDK without losing time to learn system-dependent tech.

Absolute Transparency: Updated Policy, Updated Integrated Overview

Every time you set an integration up, the policy is updated automatically. Unlike your privacy policy.

Transparency is a great trust builder and development/fuel for new users is key for growth.

The Power of Honest Disclosures:

Negative reviews and an overall poorer experience is common for frameworks with no privacy policy integration.

The policy states: We do not share your data with third parties without your consent.

These statements are what many users want to hear and are effective.

An Edelman study indicates that more than 85% of customers prefer brand transparency.

Turn Privacy Into a Competitive Advantage

Apps with user privacy as a priority and explain their privacy practices garner user loyalty. Privacy labels from Apple have created a surge of apps marketing their privacy safety practices instead of seeing privacy as a barrier.

What Common Mistakes Do Developers Make & How to Avoid Them

Lack of specificity in the disclosures

Saying “We collect data” is too vague. Try “We collect location data to provide local recommendations.”

Failing to issue updates

SDKs have updates that impact your app. Review your disclosures at a minimum quarterly or with an app update.

Ignoring SDKs

Many forget to list Facebook and other ad SDKs, which can lead to rejection from Apple.

Missing data

If you do not include data your app collects, it can lead to rejection or removal of your app.

Omitting updates

If you are collecting more data or you have altered how you are sharing data, make sure to update your disclosures.

The Impact of Proper Privacy Disclosure on Apps

Users are more likely to retain their loyalty to an app that has accurate and honest privacy disclosures. Research from Apple shows that the apps which are clear about their privacy practices are 15% more likely to have a happy user retention than those that do not.

Another noted example is a Shopify-based application that improved its reviews by 10% by being transparent about data collection practices. Apple’s privacy labels have rapidly transitioned into being a more prominent data review point, and stand to impact users’ decisions as prominently as app ratings, reviews, and features.

How Twinr Makes Privacy Compliance Simpler

Managing data disclosure is easy because of Twinr’s no-code approach:

• The central SDK configuration: It’s easy to plug in analytics or advertising SDKs with point-and-click configuration.
• No-code disclosure updates: Adjustments to privacy labels or adding SDKs is possible at any time through the dashboard.
• No friction app updates: Updates can be pushed to immediately reflect your current data practices.

In this manner, your organization stays compliant, and develops a reputation for good compliance: privacy disclosure becomes a compliance and reputation superpower!

Ready to Conquer the Disclosure Challenge of Apple’s Privacy Labels?

Apple and privacy is a tough and daunting challenge, but with Twinr, compliance is no longer a challenge but an opportunity. Disclosing in a clear and honest manner is a reputational good and keeps your app compliant and retained!

Interested to see how? Get a demo with us and see how Twinr enables you to develop compliant apps!

FAQs

Do I have to disclose all SDKs used?

Of course. All SDKs that collect or share user data must be disclosed in your App Store listing. Use Twinr’s SDK management tools to ensure that your disclosures are kept up to date.

Q2: Can I change my privacy disclosures?

A: Yes. You should keep updating your data practices and update disclosures in App Store Connect. Twinr’s dashboard lets users modify and update disclosures without any hassle.

Q3: Do I need to provide detailed privacy labels?

A: Yes. You should provide detailed privacy disclosures in order to build more trust with your users. It makes users feel like you are being forthright and honest with them.

Q4: What if I don’t collect any data. Do I still need to disclose anything?

A: Yes. You still need to explicitly mention that you are collecting none. Transparency in this area creates a good amount of credibility. Without a good amount of credibility in your app, it can become quite harmful to your app’s reputation.

Q5: What is Twinr doing to help me with my privacy disclosures?

A: Twinr makes it easy for you to integrate our SDK’s and to use our simple dashboard to store your privacy disclosures. Twinr makes it easy to keep your app in compliance without any hassle.