Installing an application on your smartphone usually involves creating an associated account. Indeed, a few apps can be fully used without going through this step. The problem is that it is not always as easy to create an account as to delete it. Google has been interested in this problem for many years and wants to give users more control over their data. Its application store, the Play Store, includes a new section to facilitate the procedure for deleting accounts and personal data.
Spotted by Android Authority, it began to appear after several months of waiting. The Mountain View firm had requested by developers in April 2023 to include information regarding account deletion in their Play Store listings. The search engine has given time, even allowing developers to wait until May 31, 2024 to do the necessary. The novelty appears little by little, as the deadline approaches, and can be seen on certain applications such as Facebook, WhatsApp or TikTok.
Good news for users
In their needs, Google precise that if an application allows you to create accounts, then it must:
- provide users with a path within the application to delete their application accounts and associated data, and
- provides a web link for users to request the deletion of an application account and associated data. If you delete other data, you have the option to indicate this.
To discover this new section, you must go to the application page in the Play Store. Then it should open Data security. The store offers a reminder about the data collected, if it is encrypted and if the deletion of the account is available. A more detailed page contains a link to the developer’s site to delete your app account.
Like Apple (iOS), Android (Google), it makes it easy to delete an account
With this section, Android is inspired by Apple, which has implemented the same rule from 2022. This new feature is good news for Android users. It facilitates access to a section often deliberately hidden by application creators. Remember that deleting an application from your phone is only the tip of the iceberg to regain control of your data. If you no longer use an app, it is better to ask for the deletion of the account and data. This avoids the use of personal data and the risk of seeing it reappear in case of cyberattacks on a service that you no longer use.
Note that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) includes the right to erasure. This is also known as the “right to be forgotten”. This right is stipulated in article 17 of the GDPR and although it is not absolute, it allows you to request the deletion of your personal data in many circumstances. In France, Article 106 of Law No. 78-17 clarifies and strengthens the right to delete personal data in France, in accordance with the provisions of the GDPR.
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