Chinese authorities have issued a set of guidelines prohibiting mobile app providers from illegally collecting unnecessary personal information. This was announced by the Cyberspace Administration of China. According to the guidelines, mobile apps cannot deny users access to their services if they refuse to share unnecessary personal information. The document also specifies the extent of personal information needed for 39 types of applications.
For example, navigation apps can have access to a user’s location, place of departure and destination while instant messaging apps can collect personal information including the user’s mobile number, their account and those of their contacts.
The Cyberspace Administration of China has specified that the guidelines, which will come into force on May 1st, are aimed at regulating the collection of personal information by mobile app providers in order to safeguard the security and privacy of users.