Google will soon restrict loan apps from accessing users' photos and contacts
) to prohibit cash lending applications from being able to access users' contacts list. They will no longer be able to access people's photos and videos, as well, whether they're saved on the phone itself or an external storage.
This is but one of the changes Google has implemented over the past year, following multiple reports of harassment from certain markets, such as India, Pakistan,and the Philippines. It's common for loan apps to require access to users' phonebooks and media before they lend money. The fact that people can easily install these apps on their phones makes them look like a pretty convenient solution for sudden monetary issues.
Agents for these services would mass send profanity-laden texts to all the borrower's contacts, including random acquaintances and co-workers, in an attempt to humiliate them into paying. Some would even go as far as to threaten them and their family bodily harm. As, the abuse got so bad for some people that it had driven them to suicide.
In an attempt to keep these loan sharks under control, Google implemented rules for India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, and Pakistan, requiring them to submit proof of approval and other documentation from the appropriate government agencies. In the US, Google with an annual percentage rate of 36 percent or higher way back in 2019. And in Pakistan, non-banking financial institutions will only be allowed to publish one lending app on the Play Store starting on May 31st.Great deals on consumer electronics delivered straight to your inbox, curated by Engadget’s editorial team.
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