After public outcry, Google will reinstate Play Store app permissions list

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  Scroll down on a Google Play app listing and you'll soon see this new privacy section. [credit: Google ]

Last week, Google started more widely rolling out the new "Data Safety" screen in the Play Store, and it made waves in the tech world when we found out that the new section was a replacement for the normal app permissions display, not a new screen in addition to it. After the negative public reaction to the news, the official Android Developers Twitter account promised to revert the change and let the permissions screen display side by side with the new Data Safety display.

"Data Safety" is a new Play Store section that lets developers list what data an app collects, how that data is stored, and who the data is shared with. You can see how Google came to the conclusion that Data Safety was an acceptable replacement for an app permissions list. The two sections have a lot of overlap—for instance, you'll probably see "location" on both screens if an app requests your location. The problem is with Google's implementation of these two screens. The app permissions list is a factual, computer-generated record of what permissions an app can request, while the Data Safety section is written by the developer. You can't cheat the app permissions list, while Data Safety runs on the honor system.

Here's Google's full statement: