Google Play's Privacy Blunder Cause For Concern

Bangalore,India: Customers of Google Play beware! Developers might have unauthorized access to your personal information. According to an Australian
developer Dan Nolan, “ every App purchase you make on Google Play gives the developer your name, suburb and email address with no indication that this
information is actually being transferred”. Nolan is the creator of the iOS app “Paul Keating insult generator” , which he recently ported over to the
Android platform. The app reached #1 on the iOS app store in Australia. The developer claimed that since every transaction is treated as a Google Wallet
order, as if it was a physical purchase, the details of the person's location and email address are disclosed to the seller. Nolan claims that “ With the
information I have available to me through the checkout portal I could track down and harass users who left negative reviews or refunded the app purchase”.
On the other hand, the iOS platform only allows sellers of apps to see general statistics of app purchases, such as the country of origin and the number of
app downloads.


According to google's privacy policy, “We will share personal information with companies, organizations or individuals outside of Google when we have your
consent to do so. We require opt-in consent for the sharing of any sensitive personal information.” However, there is no explicit
consent asked from Google Play customers before their details are shared with app sellers.Nolan's blog post about this can be read here. Look out for our follow-up piece, where we get inputs
from the developer community on which platform protects the privacy of sellers and buyers better!

What do you think about this breach of privacy? As a developer, what have you noticed about the details divulged? Let us know by mail at pcquest@cybermedia.co.in!