A report on May 11 revealed that the upcoming Android 14 system will include a new feature that allows users to see if an app will share their location data with third parties when granting location permissions. Android 11 introduced the concept of temporary permissions, allowing apps to access user data only when needed.
In the following year, the Android 12 system enabled the general location-sharing function, while the Android 14 system focuses on addressing the issue of location data sharing. Many apps require access to location data, some for their own functionality and others to share the data with third parties.
With the Android 14 system, Google hopes to encourage Android developers to be more transparent about how they use location data.
According to an Android 14 Beta 2 blog post, users will now receive a warning when the location permission prompt appears if the app states on its Play Store page that data may be shared with third parties.
This information is sourced from the apps’ data security section on the Play Store, which was introduced last year to help developers explain how they intend to use location data, including for purposes such as marketing and advertising. This new feature offers convenience to users, as it eliminates the need to check the Play Store page every time they suspect an app of privacy issues, and the Android system will automatically display this information.
Moreover, Android 14 will also notify users if developers modify how they collect location data. This reminder will appear as a monthly notification. As most users have hundreds of apps installed on their Android devices, it would be bothersome to be notified of every change, so a monthly frequency is deemed an appropriate compromise.
This new feature can be found under Settings -> Security & Privacy -> Privacy, labelled as Location Data Sharing Update.
During the developer conference, Google clarified that this additional information is currently only available for location permission, but will expand to other permissions in the future.
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