Google has finally added iOS privacy tags to Gmail

Google has added Apple App Store privacy leaflets to its Gmail app, almost a month after we ran an article asking what was taking so long (via MacRumors). The app is Google’s second main app to get the leaflets, after they were added to YouTube when it was updated earlier this month.

So what does it look like? Well, that’s up to you to decide. The app seems to share your rough location and user ID with advertisers, as well as information about your interactions with ads. However, according to the privacy label, it does not collect your name, physical address or phone number (although as an email client, it is clear that Gmail collects your email address). Location data is also used for analysis and there are some features of the app that request it as well. If you want to see the full label, below is a video that goes through it.

For comparison, here’s the app’s privacy information for another email app, Hey.

The information Hey wants corresponds to one page.
Screenshot: The edge

It’s worth noting that Apple’s app privacy labels are meant to show everything the app does perhaps accessibility, not what information that app please accessibility. For example, an app can only use location data when it needs to show you a map, but the privacy tabs don’t make that clear – it’s just used / unused binary. Also, the information in the labels is submitted by the company itself, and Apple does not guarantee its accuracy.

Surprisingly, Google added the labels without updating the Gmail app, even though it was literally shouting for an update (due to a fun bug). The last time Google updated the iOS app was two months ago.

So far, Google ‘s other great apps like Maps, Photos, Docs, and Chrome have not received the labels yet. But the fact that both YouTube and Gmail have been added shows that Google is starting to roll them out to its big apps.

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