Google makes it easier to remove accounts from Android apps

Google wants to make it easier to remove accounts from Android apps. An important measure to give users more control.

Google wants to make deleting an app account as easy as creating one. The Redmond-based company has announced that Android apps on the Play Store will soon have to allow its users to delete an account and all related data both in the app and online. Developers will also be required to delete account data when users request the deletion of an entire account.

Google makes it easier to remove accounts from Android apps

The move is intended to “better inform”users about how they can control their data and build their trust in both apps and the Play Store as a whole. It also provides more flexibility. According to Google, you can delete some data (such as content you’ve submitted) without completely deleting your account. The obligation to do this for the web also ensures that you don’t have to reinstall an app only to have your data disappear.

This new directive will come into force gradually. App creators will have until December 7 to respond to data deletion questions on their app’s security form. App listings in the store will begin showing these changes in early 2024. Developers can request an extension until May 31 next year.

An important measure to give users more control

These changes come a few months after Apple implemented similar policies in its App Store. In both cases, companies are concerned about privacy breaches and their consequences—they don’t want users to fall victim to security breaches just because it’s not easy to delete an account or sensitive data when they stop using an app.

It should also be seen as a response to the increasingly pressing demands from regulators to give users more control over services. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently proposed significant changes, including the introduction of simple methods for canceling subscriptions and other registrations. While the FTC is more focused on eliminating unwanted payments, the message for app developers is clear: give more control over user accounts or face the consequences.