71% of developers aren’t ready for Apple’s new privacy rule

by Jonny Evans · March 25, 2022

Cook speaks privacy

Apple will very soon require iOS apps that allow for in-app account creation to also make it possible to delete all that data from within the app. And most companies aren’t ready to comply — but a company called Transcend has a solution that might help.

Most companies aren’t prioritizing privacy

Apple in October 2021 published updated App Store guidelines in which it said, “All apps that allow for account creation must also allow users to initiate deletion of their account from within the app.”

The tech giant’s guidance requires iOS applications that allow account creation to allow for in-app deletion of not just a consumer’s account but deletion of their entire personal data footprint.

The idea here was to protect user privacy against rascals who make you sign up for accounts for services and then quietly exfiltrate your data for sale.

This all relates to the privacy protections Apple has built into the App Store, and the next stage of those protections is coming into play. That’s when Apple begins evicting apps that don’t comply with the requirements.

But, despite months of warning, it looks like developers just aren’t ready to protect the privacy of their users.

A Transcend survey of tech decision makers found that an astonishing 71 percent of companies are not fully prepared to meet Apple’s June 30, 2022 deadline for compliance with its new rule.

Not only this, but less than a quarter of developers understand the full scope of what Apple wants them to do, despite months of warning.

“The results of our new research and Apple’s extension of their original January 2022 deadline show just how hard privacy compliance can be to implement. Delivering on privacy should be frictionless. But companies know that truly addressing consumer data rights at scale—beyond bare minimum compliance—is next to impossible without engineering work across data systems. Manual approaches just can’t keep up in a world where consumer data flows so quickly,” said Transcend CEO and Co-founder Ben Brook.

https://youtu.be/Ihw_Al4RNno

What Apple wants

Apple has said that all apps that allow for account creation within the app must also allow users to initiate deletion of their account from within the app. This requirement was meant to come into effect by January 31, 2022, but this was extended to June 30, 2022.

The company has the following requirements for this:

The account deletion option should be easy to find in your app.
It’s insufficient to only provide the ability to temporarily disable or deactivate an account. People should be able to delete the account along with their personal data.
Apps in highly-regulated industries may need to provide additional support flows to confirm and facilitate the account deletion process.
Follow applicable legal requirements for storing and retaining user account information. This includes complying with local laws in different countries or regions. As always, check with your legal counsel.

Transcend says almost three quarters of developers still aren’t ready to meet these rules.

Transcend has a solution for this

Transcend does have skin in the game.

A new product that gives companies with the ability to programmatically delete user accounts and erase personal data through their in-app interface. The company say developers will be able to use this to comply with Apple’s new rules within a week of work.