Mobile Marketing Association releases new privacy policy guidelines for mobile-apps for public comment

New York, NY, 17 October, 2011 – The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), the leading global trade association for the mobile industry, today announced the release of the MMA Mobile Application Privacy Policy, the first guidelines document of its kind that addresses the core privacy issues and data processes of many mobile applications, for public comment.

“These new privacy policy guidelines fill an urgent need for all companies doing business in the mobile marketing industry. The guidelines are intended to provide ways to give the mobile application developer with clear and transparent policy language that can be quickly and completely understood by the consumer,” said MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart. “Today’s release is the first in series of privacy policy guidelines that the MMA will create with the input of industry leaders across the mobile ecosystem.”

The guidelines address key issues including:

Annotated guidance on core privacy principles and consumer-friendly language for developers to consider using.

- Ways to inform users on how data is obtained and used

- Guidance on security and confidentiality of information

Privacy policies are an important consumer disclosure tool for app developers; not meant to be a one-size-fits-all document and should be customized to fit the needs of each company and each jurisdiction. The MMA urges app developers to consult with their legal counsel when adapting these guidelines for their purposes.

“Having a privacy policy is a good first step, compliance and supporting processes are also very important,” said Alan Chapell, Co-chair of the MMA Privacy & Advocacy Committee. “With more than 58% of U.S. mobile users worried that their data can be easily accessed by others, a privacy policy that helps establish and maintain consumer trust is absolutely essential.”

The MMA Mobile Application Privacy Policy was created by the MMA Privacy & Advocacy Committee -- co-chaired by Alan Chapell, President of Chapell & Associates, and Fran Maier, President of TRUSTe -- in response to the massive upsurge in mobile app popularity among smartphone users and mobile marketers. There are now billions of apps downloaded per year; as of June 2011, over 425,000 individual apps were available via the Apple App Store and more than 200,000 were available for Android devices.