The mobile apps market is booming.
If you're in the business of developing apps, it's
important to know about basic and relevant consumer
protection guidelines.
I'm Laura Berger, an attorney at the Federal Trade Commission.
Whether you run an established company or a start up, the FTC
has suggestions to help you comply with truth and
advertising standards and privacy principles.
Every app is different.
But there are some general guidelines to consider if
you're developing an app.
Truth in advertising is simple.
Tell the truth when you're talking about your product.
Once you start distributing your app, you're an advertiser.
An ad isn't just a multimillion dollar TV spot or
global marketing campaign.
It's pretty much anything.
A company tells a prospective customer about what
a product can do.
This could be on a website, in an app store, or even a
feature, like a privacy setting or control, that you
built into the app itself.
One rule of thumb is to look at your product and your
advertising from the average user's perspective.
And if you make objective claims about your app, you
need solid proof to back them up before you start
distributing it.
When it comes to disclosures, display key information about
your product clearly and conspicuously.
Generally, the law doesn't dictate fonts or type size.
But the FTC has taken action against companies that have
buried important terms in long licensing agreements, in dense
blocks of legal mumbo jumbo, or behind vague hyperlinks.
This makes good business sense too.
It shows people that you aren't trying to hide anything
in the fine print.
Now, moving on to privacy.
Practice privacy by design.
This means incorporating privacy considerations from
the products concept stage, to its launch, and updates.
Build privacy protections into development.
Limit the information you collect.
Securely store what you hold onto.
And safely dispose of any data you don't need.
Think through your default settings with
an eye toward privacy.
If you're collecting or sharing information in a way
that people wouldn't expect, get their
express permission first.
Be transparent about your data practices.
If you need to collect user information for the app to
work, be clear about what information you collect and
what you do with it.
Give users a choice when it comes to privacy.
Privacy settings, OPT outs, or other tools, let users control
how their personal information is collected and shared.
Make it easy for people to find the tools you offer, and
design them so they're simple to use.
Honor your privacy promises.
Chances are, you've told users about your security standards
or what you do with their personal information.
Whether that message is in your privacy policy or
somewhere else, app developers, like all other
marketers, have to live up to their privacy promises.
What if you decide to modify your privacy practices
sometime down the road.
Get users affirmative permission
for material changes.
If your app is designed for kids, or if you know that you
collect personal information from kids, you might have
additional requirements under the Children's Online Privacy
Protection Act and the FTC's COPPA rule.
Under COPPA, any company whose app is directed to users under
13, or who knows that a user is under 13, must clearly
explain its information collection practices.
In addition, COPPA requires you to get parental consent
before the app collects any personal
information from a child.
And requires that you keep a kid's personal information
confidential and secure.
Visit the business center for compliance advice.
Even when you're not dealing with information from kids,
it's smart to get a user sign off before you collect
sensitive information.
What do we mean by sensitive?
Medical, financial, or geolocation information are
all good examples.
And finally, a few tips on keeping data secure.
Collect only the information you need.
Take reasonable precautions against well
known security risks.
Limit access to data to need to know basis, and safely
dispose of data when you no longer need it.
That's the download on mobile apps.
If you want to learn more, read Marketing Your Mobile
App, Get It Right From The Start.
Available at business.FTC.gov.