BENGALURU: Tech Giant Google’s new personal loan policy for apps could help many borrowers as it prohibits these apps from accessing borrowers’ sensitive data such as contacts or photos. The deadline to complete the personal app declaration for India is May 31.
Of late, many cases are emerging where borrowers are being harassed by instant loan apps and they follow unethical practices to recover loan amounts. Google has asked personal loan apps in India to provide the necessary documentation to support their declaration.
For example, if they are licensed by the RBI to provide personal loans, they must submit a copy of their licence for review. If they are not directly engaged in money lending activities and are only providing a platform to facilitate money lending by registered NBFCs or banks to users, they will need to accurately reflect this in their declaration.
The company’s recent policy update to limit digital lending apps from accessing sensitive user data is a crucial step towards curbing predatory lending and other malpractices that have been a growing concern, said Shashank Sharma, Director at Scoreme Solutions.
“By restricting access to data like contacts, photos, and location, Google has made it more challenging for lenders to engage in unethical recovery practices, such as blackmailing borrowers with sensitive images or harassing their acquaintances. Its privacy sandbox aims to protect people’s privacy online and provide developers with tools to build digital businesses while reducing cross-site and cross-app tracking,” he said.
He added that this policy update is a step forward, but unethical practices by some loan apps still pose a risk. The Reserve Bank of India recently raised concerns over the growing unethical loan recovery practices by loan apps.
Mahesh Shukla, CEO and Founder PayMe said Google Play Store’s new norms will protect the borrowers from harmful and deceptive lending practices like sharing contacts or images. He said that these norms will create a more level playing field for digital lenders who operate with transparency and fairness.
“To further encourage digital lenders to follow good lending practices, Google Play Store has mandated apps to clearly disclose important information about their loans, including minimum and maximum periods of repayment, interest rates, and other charges,” he added.