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Apple has clarified that its mandatory application privacy “nutrition label” program will apply to all applications, whether from third-party developers or Apple. It is an apparent response to criticism from WhatsApp earlier today that the program unfairly favored Apple services.
That means Apple apps on the App Store will receive similar privacy labels when the program launches later this year as third-party apps. And for the few iOS apps that aren’t available on the App Store, like Messages, a particular point of contention for WhatsApp, they will have the same privacy information available on Apple’s website.
The statement follows a complaint from WhatsApp today in which the messaging service claimed that Apple’s system was unfair as it would only affect third-party services, but not Apple’s pre-installed apps. For its part, Apple had never announced any policy to indicate that its applications would be exempt from the privacy label requirement.
“We believe that the labels should be consistent in both proprietary and third-party applications, as well as reflect the strong measures that applications can take to protect people’s private information,” said WhatsApp. Axios in a statement today. “While providing people with easy-to-read information is a good start, we think it’s important for people to be able to compare these ‘privacy nutrition’ labels on the apps they download with apps that come pre-installed, like iMessage.”
Apple first introduced privacy labels as part of its WWDC announcements earlier this year. The labels, compared to the nutritional data found on food products, will appear in the App Store and provide users with an easy and visible breakdown of data that developers can collect and track. Developers were due to start shipping labels for their apps on December 8, and the labels are expected to start appearing “later this year.”
