Google To Prohibit Loan Apps From Accessing Sensitive Data From May 31; Details Inside

GOOGLE regularly brings consumer-centric enhancements to its apps. In its latest attempt, the tech giant has introduced a change which will prohibit apps that provide personal loans to access sensitive data like photos and contacts of a user. The new policy applies to personal, payday, peer-to-peer and title loans.

The updated policy will be effective from May 31, 2023. It will act as a crackdown on exploitative loan apps. Several reports in the past have claimed that lenders have used media from a borrower's handset to harass them.

"We’re updating our Personal Loans policy to state that apps aiming to provide or facilitate personal loans may not access user contacts or photos," Google wrote in its Policy preview. Permission to location, phone number and videos shall be denied too.

Further, it adds, if the "app contains or promotes financial products and services," it will have to comply with state and local rules of the region where it is operating. Google defines personal loans as, "lending money from one individual, organization, or entity to an individual consumer on a nonrecurring basis, not for the purpose of financing purchase of a fixed asset or education."

The category of the app must be set to finance and shall disclose details such as repayment timeline, maximum Annual Percentage Rate and a policy that "comprehensively discloses the access, collection, use, and sharing of personal and sensitive user data." Plus, it highlights that it does not promote personal loan apps that have a repayment period of 60 days or less.

To operate in India, a Personal Loan App Declaration for India shall be completed. If an app is licensed by the RBI, it should submit a copy of the license. If the app indirectly engages as a platform to facilitate money exchange, it should reflect its declaration registrations by NBFCs or banks. Plus, the names shall be updated in the app description.

A TechCrunch feature highlighted that the torture from loan agents in case of non-payment of dues gets so pressing that it led to a suicide case. To curb these activities, additional requirements for countries such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, and Pakistan will now be in place.