ACCAN has commented on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's (OAIC's) draft guidelines for mobile app developers. We pointed out that consumers need to be told how app providers want to use their personal information, and to have the choice whether or not to allow that use.

Mobile phones and tablets are widely used by Australian consumers, and that usage is set to increase. Games, utilities, social networking and other apps that we use on our mobile devices bring a range of problems. One of these problems is the risk to privacy caused by apps having access to the huge supply of personal information stored on mobile devices, as well as the potential for mobile devices to be used for gathering information for marketing purposes.

Summary:
The OAIC's guidelines provide advice to app developers on how to comply with their responsibilities under Australia's privacy laws. ACCAN's comments support the OAIC's guidelines, while offering some suggestions on how the guidelines could be strengthened to provide greater consumer protection without impacting on the ease of use of mobile devices and apps.

To see ACCAN's previous app-related submission on in-app purchases and misleading marketing of apps, please visit http://bit.ly/ZF0Lgi

Download: ACCAN mobile privacy submission812.93 KB

Download: ACCAN mobile privacy submission199.87 KB