For the majority of you reading this, chances are you're not far from your smartphone. They've become a quintessential part of our daily lives and have integrated into navigating everything from banking to meal tracking.
For aspiring developers, building an app can be a way into financial security, or even springboarding into other opportunities with both start-ups and large corporations that are interested in making their services easily accessible to their consumer base.
But it's not all sunshine and puppies for developing your first app, especially when it comes to protecting yourself, your intellectual property, and your customers. If you're planning to jump into app development, your first investment should really be a knowledgeable lawyer. Yes, it's going to cost you a little coin in the beginning, but consider the following things you'll need to know (especially if your app takes off):
Privacy Concerns
Generally, increased privacy concerns are what driving many app developers to acquire legal assistance during the development process. Most countries implement privacy laws where developers are obliged to make a privacy policy statement as a disclosing service provided for app users. App developers are subject to federal and state levels privacy laws based on the data being shared or stored in software. Check out Application Privacy to learn more about these specific privacy laws that apply to app developers.
Software Development Compliance Policy
Regulatory compliance is considered one of the main risks for software development industries that is specifically focused on application security. Developers need to be fully aware of the numerous industry-specific regulations concerning software development securities in order to keep things into equilibrium, minimize the risks and comply with the rules now and in the future. Furthermore, understanding this policy enable them to stay compliant particularly with the strictest regulations, legislations, legal text, legal landscape and modifications.
Third Party Services Policy
App developers must provide a readable and easily accessible privacy policy which informs the users with specific descriptions whether the data will be disclosed to third party services. Another factor is the confidentiality issues that occur when third parties are involved in the development process. Signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) should be paramount to ensure a third party will keep everything confidential. Since most platforms have privacy policy requirements necessary for approval flow, legal assistance may be required in preparing the privacy policy information concerning such policy.
Legal Contracts
If you're really a professional developer and serious about your career goals, you should adopt professional practices by starting with proper legal contracts. A written legal contract with essential documents such as Technology Assignment Agreement, Independent Contractor Agreement, Service or License Agreement, Privacy Policy and NDA can protect you and the people you work with. If you need help, this docracy has a good breakdown on what should be included in a mobile application development contract.
Remember, once an app is ready to use in any device, it is subject to certain terms and conditions. There are certainly lots of legal aspects that need careful considerations to ensure that an app is fully compliant, and it might be too far out of your wheelhouse to just try and wing it. Do it the right way the first time by investing in a lawyer and you'll be able to focus on creating a smooth development environment and launch.