Android apps must allow you delete account and data from 2024

If you’re worried about just how much data companies have amassed from the dozens of Android phone and tablet apps you’ve downloaded down the years, a potential solution is on the way.

Google has announced that Android developers must give users the option to delete their accounts and most of the data associated with it.

From the beginning of next year, developers must comply with the new rules allowing people to remove their data on the web, without having to reinstall the old app. The option will be available within the app too, but the absence of the requirement is a definite bonus.

It’s unlikely this will be from a central repository with developers likely to need a user facing web portal offering the service. In a post on the Android developers blog, Google says the decision has been made to build on recent initiatives to “help developers build consumer trust by showcasing their apps’ privacy and security practices in a way that is simple and easy to understand.”

Users will have a choice to keep the account but delete all of the data associated with it, such as images, activity, and history. Developers may need to keep some of the data for security purposes and in those cases it must be disclosed as to why.

All in all it sounds like a sensible solution from Google. As a reporter who has test driven and reviewed many hundreds of apps in the smartphone era, I often worry about what has happened to all of that data, so the clean up operations are welcomed.

Google says devs have until December this year to get their questions in and comply ahead of a roll out next year. An extension may be granted until May 31 2024 if devs need more time to get those ducks in a row.

“While we’re excited about the greater control this will give people over their data, we understand it will take time for developers to prepare, especially those without an existing deletion functionality or web presence,” Google adds.