Skip to Content

Privacy & Data

Mobile App Privacy Takes Center Stage

Mobile applications are coming to the market in staggering numbers — 2,000 day by one account.  And these apps are being developed in an environment where privacy is too often an afterthought.  

The Commerce Department today is holding the first in a series of high profile forums aimed at developing “an open, transparent, consensus-driven process to develop a code of conduct regarding mobile app transparency,” according the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), the agency hosting the meetings.

Consumers consistently rank mobile apps among the most worrisome when it comes to privacy concerns, and it’s no surprise why.  Media attention has highlighted privacy pitfalls and class action lawsuits have prompted state and federal regulators to take a closer look at app developers data practices. 

Against the backdrop of the NTIA meeting, CDT and the Future of Privacy Forum have released a “best practices” guide for mobile app developers dealing with building privacy into their products.  

The 20-page guide is intended to be a “road map” for mobile app developers “to build privacy into your apps, better inform and empower end-users, and foster trust and confidence in the mobile app ecosystem,” the document says. 
 

Related Reading

White document on black background.

CDT Files Comments with DOJ in Response to Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Bulk Sale of Data
White document on black background.

CDT’s Matt Scherer Testifies Before Connecticut Senate’s General Law Committee on Senate Bill 2, An Act Concerning Artificial Intelligence
Samir Jain Testimony for House Committee. White document on black background.

CDT VP of Policy Samir Jain Testimony Before U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee on “Legislative Solutions to Protect Kids Online and Ensure Americans’ Data Privacy Rights”