Apple Is Removing Apps That Share Your Location Data

Apple has been taking down apps from the App Store that violate the company’s policies by sharing location data with third parties without consent, according to 9to5Mac.

The Cupertino tech giant informs developers via email that “upon re-evaluation,” their application is in violation of sections 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 of the App Store Review Guidelines, which say that apps must not transmit “user location data to third parties without explicit consent from the user [or] for unapproved purposes.”

This crackdown on these applications is due to the shift to the General Data Protection Regulation, which goes into effect in Europe on May 25. Under the new rules, tech companies will need to obtain explicit and informed consent from a person they’re collecting personal data from. Apple says that developers must remove any code, frameworks, or SDKs that violate the terms before their app can be resubmitted.

In addition, Apple wants developers to explain what the data is used for and how it is shared, as the crackdown is also targeting developers who use the personal data for other purposes unrelated to improving user experience.