Mobile App Privacy Policy 

privacy laws around the world require businesses to provide their customers with a Privacy Policy. Privacy law is becoming stricter all the time, and intrusive mobile technology is a big reason for this.

It's highly likely that you will need to comply with privacy law if you develop or publish a mobile app.

Here are some examples of countries and regions with privacy laws that require all or some businesses to publish a Privacy Policy:

United States (US): Most notably, laws such as the California Online Privacy Act (CalOPPA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)

European Union (EU): The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy Directive

United Kingdom (UK): The GDPR, Privacy in Electronic Communications Regulations (PECRs) and Data Protection Act 2018

Canada: Personal Information and Privacy of Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

Australia: Privacy Act

South Africa: Processing of Personal Information Act (POPI Act)

Depending on where your business is based, and where your users are based, you might need to comply with several of these laws, and perhaps many more.

Unlike a Terms and Conditions agreement that is not required by law, the Privacy Policy is required by law. For example:

If your app is accessible in California, you must comply with California privacy law

If your app is accessible in the EU, you must comply with EU privacy law

For a more complete look at privacy laws around the world, view our article: Privacy Laws By Country.

These rules apply whether you have a business presence in these places or not. Most of these laws only require you to publish a Privacy Policy if your mobile app collects "personal information." However, personal information is a very broad concept.

Personal information can be a person's name or email address. It can be their username or device ID. Or it can even be data about how they use your app. For more information, see our article What Is Personal Information Under Privacy Laws?