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Do mobile apps have to comply with EU cookie laws?

I had an interesting question from the client regarding the EU cookie law and how it affects their mobile applications.

As you may know, the Cookie Act requires websites to let users know that the website uses cookies and tells them how to disable them.

What does it cost with Android / IOS apps? I didn’t specifically store cookies, but I save login information to automatically check access to the application.

Does the law depend on this? Do I need to add a popup when an application starts to alert users?

What about webviews in apps?

In principle, I can’t find any clarification on this issue, and I can’t say that I saw an application that informs users about data storage.

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Short answer:

Not. As a mobile app developer, you don’t have to worry about Cookie Law.

Long answer:

This is an excerpt from a wired article (link below):

The Cookie Law stems from a change in EU privacy and the Electronic Communications Directive, which took place in November 2009. It aims to protect online privacy and protect web users from inappropriate marketing. Cookies can be used to create the profile you have been and how you behave on the Internet. The law aims that any company seeking to collect information about a web user should first ask for their consent. Prior to this modification, websites were supposed to allow people to refuse cookies. Now they have to choose all the "non-essential" cookies. The law was introduced into British law in May 2011, but one year was granted to British companies to comply. The deadline for compliance is May 26, 2012.

In my opinion, given that the mobile application is not a website or a web page, if it is not prescribed by law, you do not need to inform the user that you will store your login information. You know, as a developer, this information (in the Preferences file, I don't know the iOS equivalent) is pretty much safe. If there is paranoia about privacy, such a Warning will probably end up with even more. In my opinion, completely unnecessary. Others may or may not differ from this. The idea is to show a Privacy Policy when users first install and launch your application. There is also a feature on the Developer Console on Google Play that allows you to specify the URL of a privacy policy. These measures, again, in my opinion, are good enough.

If you are curious about the Cookies Act, read some of these articles:

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