Research guide
Website versus application privacy policies
Websites and apps need the same core privacy policy, but they collect information through different channels and answer to different gatekeepers. A website policy focuses on cookies, tags, forms, and browser signals. An app policy must also match device permissions, embedded SDKs, and the privacy answers you give in Google Play and App Store Connect. One document can cover both if it clearly separates the platform-specific practices.
What stays the same
Both formats identify the operator, describe categories of information and sources, explain purposes, list recipients and international transfers, set out retention, security, children's handling, rights, request methods, changes, and contact details. Regional modules such as GDPR legal bases or California rights apply in the same way whether the user reached you through a browser or an app. Account, payment, support, and marketing email processing is usually shared across both channels.
Website-specific facts
Websites typically disclose cookies and similar technologies, analytics and advertising tags, embedded content such as videos, maps, or social posts, web forms, server and security logs, and consent banner behavior. CalOPPA requires a website policy to explain how the operator responds to browser Do Not Track signals and whether other parties may collect information about a user's online activities over time and across different sites. Where California sale or sharing rules apply, handling of opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control belongs here as well.
App-specific facts
Apps disclose device permissions such as location, camera, microphone, contacts, photos, and notifications, together with the reason for each. They disclose SDKs for analytics, crash reporting, advertising, attribution, authentication, and messaging, which may collect device identifiers, installation IDs, and diagnostics independently of your own code. Store purchases and subscriptions handled by Apple or Google, push tokens, background location, and in-app account deletion are app-specific topics that reviewers check.
Store disclosures must match the policy
Google Play requires every published app to complete the Data safety form and to link a privacy policy, even when the app collects no data. Apple requires App Privacy details in App Store Connect, a publicly accessible privacy policy URL, and declarations that include the practices of third-party partners whose code the app integrates. Reviewers and users compare these declarations with the policy text, so a policy that omits an SDK the store form lists, or the reverse, invites rejection or complaints.
Account deletion differs by channel
Apple guideline 5.1.1(v) requires apps that support account creation to offer account deletion within the app. Google Play requires apps that allow account creation to provide deletion both in the app and through a web link, and its User Data policy says that when an account is deleted at the user's request, associated user data must be deleted too. A website may offer deletion through settings or a request email. Whichever route applies, the policy should explain it and describe any records kept for legal reasons.
One policy or two
A single policy works well when the website and app share the same operator, account system, and providers. Use clearly labeled sections for cookies and web tags on one side and permissions and SDKs on the other, and avoid implying that an app permission applies on the web or that a web cookie runs inside the app. Separate policies can be clearer when the products have different operators, audiences, or regional scope. In either case keep one stable public URL that both the store listing and the website footer point to.
Side-by-side checklist
Consent: websites use a cookie banner or preference center, while apps use in-app prompts and operating-system permission dialogs. Identifiers: websites rely on cookies and local storage, while apps rely on installation IDs, advertising identifiers, and push tokens. Third parties: websites load tags and embeds, while apps bundle SDKs that ship inside the binary. Gatekeepers: websites answer mainly to law and to provider terms such as analytics or advertising contracts, while apps also answer to store review. Deletion: websites may accept email requests, while stores require in-app deletion for apps with accounts. Updates: website changes can be deployed instantly, while app changes follow release cycles, so the policy should cover the app versions still in use.
Generating the right version
The questionnaire asks which platforms you operate, website, application, SaaS, or store, and then asks follow-up questions only for those channels. Choosing both website and application produces a document that addresses cookies and tracking as well as app-store purchases and providers, while a website-only answer never mentions app permissions. Hosted policies have a stable public link you can paste into Play Console, App Store Connect, and your footer.
Official sources checked for this guide
Platform rules and legislation can change. Verify the current text before publishing or making a high-risk decision.
Common questions
Can my app link to my website privacy policy?
Yes, as long as that page accurately covers the app, including permissions, SDKs, and store purchases, and loads without sign-in on a phone.
Do web apps and progressive web apps count as apps?
For disclosure purposes they behave mostly like websites, using cookies and browser storage. If you also ship them through an app store, the store's policy link and data disclosure rules apply.
From the blog
How to make a privacy policy for an app
Create an app privacy policy by auditing permissions and SDKs, drafting the disclosures, and matching Apple privacy labels and Google Play Data safety.