Windows 8: Windows Store apps - Privacy Policy

Over the past few articles, we've been talking about creating a Windows Store app. The following are the links to the articles if you're interested:

• Windows Store apps and the WebView control
• Windows Store apps - RoamingSettings and the DataChanged event
• Windows Store apps - JavaScript passing data to the code containing the WebView control

When I first submitted my app to the Windows Store it failed certification due to the Windows 8 app certification requirement 4.1: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh694083.aspx

At the time, the 4.1 requirement wasn't entirely clear to me but, after some digging on the internet, I was able determine what was needed.

The good news about the certification requirement documentation is that it appears to be improved over time because section 4.1 is now a bit more clear as to what is needed.

The reason why my app failed certification was because any app that makes a connection to the internet, which our app does, can result in some of your user's personal information making it onto the internet (e.g. the IP address could be used to determine their location).

If you app has the ability to communicate over a network then you need to provide a privacy policy with your app via the Settings charm as well as a link to a web page for use in the Windows App Store gallery.

The privacy policy doesn't have to be legalese but does have to tell the user how their information is used, stored, secured, if it's disclosed with third parties, etc.

Since every app is different, the common recommendation is to go through the Windows Store apps looking at the various privacy policies to come up with one that best fits your app's functionality.


A download of the project (C# and built using Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows 8) can be found in the following location:
https://github.com/downloads/dovicoapi/DOVICOTimerForWindowsStore/DOVICOTimerForWindowsStore.zip