Last Updated on 17/01/2021 by Aish K
On Thursday, Google removed various loan apps in India from Play Store after a thorough review of these apps revealed they have been violating various safety norms and were flagged by users along with various government agencies.
In case of a few other, the developers have been asked to showcase that they comply with the respective laws and regulations, otherwise they too will have to face the above consequence. So far, the name of the apps has not been revealed by Google.
“Providing a safe and secure experience across Google’s products is our top priority. Our global product policies are designed and implemented with this goal in mind, and we’re always working to improve our practices to enhance user safety,” – Google via its blog post.
Earlier on Wednesday, RBI made an announcement or forming a working group soon that would set up regulatory measures to promote mannerly growth of lending via digital platforms amidst increasing harassment in concern with the same. This would also help to create awareness about the various unauthorised digital lending channels and mobile applications.
Google further said in its blog post that the “Google Developer Policy requires financial services apps that offer personal loans to disclose key information such as the minimum and maximum periods of repayment, the maximum annual percentage rate, and a representative example of the total loan cost.“
Google grants permission to only such apps that have a requirement of full repayment up to minimum 60 days since the date of issuing the loan.
The developers must ask for permissions that are a requirement for the availing the various features and services of the apps. This must not include permissions such as that of device data or user data for serving purposes that are undisclosed, unimplemented or disallowed features. Without the user’s consent it cannot make use of any data and even after being granted permission, the developer must ask before utilising the obtained data for additional purposes, says Google.
