The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is seeking comment on a consultation draft of Mobile privacy: A better practice guide for mobile app developers.

The OAIC has developed this guide to help mobile device application (app) developers embed better privacy practices in their products and services.

The Commissioner comments that:

It is clear that the mobile environment, along with the new app economy it has generated, presents risks as well as potential. If you are a mobile app developer, whether you work on your own, or for a business or government agency, you should adopt a ‘privacy by design’ approach, where privacy-enhancing practices are applied throughout the life cycle of the personal information – that is, its collection, use (including data matching and analytics), disclosure, storage and destruction.

Given the growing popularity of apps, app developers can expect increased scrutiny of the privacy practices in the app industry in the years ahead – by both regulators and the market itself, driven by increasingly informed, discerning and influential consumers.

The draft guide contains a privacy checklist for app developers.