Google introduced new rules limiting access to user data in Chrome and Drive for 3rd-party add-ons. The alterations result from Project Strobe, a Google audit launched in October to study how user data is handled by third-party services. From now on, developers of the Chrome extension will ask for the least amount of user information that their app needs to work. Apps that connect to Google Drive— will be barred from accessing the entire data of the consumer.
To post a privacy policy, Google will require browser extensions that handle content provided by users and personal communications. In the earlier days, Google only needed a small range of Chrome plug-ins to actually post a privacy policy— those that manage sensitive user information. While this new rule will add more applications to that list, it does not apply to all of the Chrome Web Store’s 180,000 choices.
Google drive apps will need to request permission to obtain an individual file every time they need it. While exciting are the new privacy rules, they will take a bit of time to come into force. Google is continuing to make developers mindful of the revised policy today, but not until this spring will the rules be enforced. For developers of Google Drive, regulation will not begin until the beginning of next year.
