An Irish-cofounded company has become the newest addition to Google’s product line-up, offering a platform to help simplify privacy and reduce risk for mobile app developers.
Checks uses artificial intelligence to help companies with Play and iOS mobile apps quickly discover, communicate and solve privacy compliance issues. Previously one of the projects in Google’s Area 120 internal incubator, Checks has now exited the programme and been made a fully fledged Google product. That puts the founders in an elite elite group that have made the cut, including work tracking tool Tables. Other Area 120 projects include Tangi and Keen.
Cofounded by Irishman Fergus Hurley and Nia Castelly, the company joined Google’s Area 120 project with the goal of enabling teams to build trust.
“The reason we started this at Google is because we believe this is where it makes most sense to create this product and where we have the highest chance of being successful. Our intention was to have it become a core Google product,” said Mr Hurley. “We got accepted to start in April 2020, just as COVID was hitting. So we built the whole team remotely.”
Check helps developers identify potential compliance issues, using AI in a number of different ways. It looks at what the app is required to do depending on local regulations, such as GDPR in Europe, examines if the app does what it says it will in relation to privacy and data collection, and uses a smart bot that acts like a human would in relation to the app’s use.
The system can help highlight changes that have unintended consequences, or flag policies that companies may have forgotten were in place and had not been updated.
“We created Checks because privacy compliance in particular is complex,” said Ms Castelly. “We’re making it more efficient and easy for companies to be able to do the right thing.”
Companies that have used the platform include Miniclip, Rovio, Kongregate, Crayola and Yousician.
Although the company is starting with privacy, there is the potential to develop the platform further in future.
”What we have created here fundamentally is a compliance platform,” said Mr Hurley. “We’re starting with privacy but it can expand to many other areas where companies need to follow regulations or policies. We want to help all digital products simplify and reduce risk.“
