Presentation

Social Media Apps were often discussed in this course

We had discussions about Facebook or Instagram,

how they do or do not comply with the GDPR

or why their privacy policies are so hard to understand even though the GDPR requires the opposite

Therefore, we asked ourselves: Would a social media app, developed and based in the European Union, have the same difficulties in writing an understandable and user-friendly privacy policy?

To answer this question, we focused on the app BeReal

It was launched in 2019 by a French company and has been installed over 73 million times by the end of last year

The app processes Data within the scope of GDPR, and we checked if the privacy policy in compliance

First, we checked the compliance with the principles

Then we checked the information about the user rights

We tested the right to access and the right to data portability

and found some critical points regarding the explanations of the right of erasure and the right to object.

In the end, we are going to point out some interesting topics that came up during our research

The policy states that the deletion of personal data can only be done if

• the processing is not necessary anymore for the purpose they were collected

• or when consent to the processing is withdrawn.

But the purposes for processing are explained in a different section of the policy

That requires the reader to connect the information about the right to erasure with the information about the purposes

From a user's perspective, this is not easy to understand.

They should at least refer to the section that mentions the purposes or provide an easier explanation about this user right

During our research, we found more interesting thoughts about BeReal

Some sources warn of causing data breaches in the workplace by using the app

This can happen with any kind of social media app, but especially the concept of BeReal creates this risk.

The app sends out a daily notification that can pop-up anytime encouraging the users to take a picture as soon as possible

If this picture is taken while the user is at work, there is a risk that personal data is shared by mistake

This risk is not a problem for BeReal but more for employers and the users themselves