Google will restrict access to sensitive user data, such as photos, videos, location, call logs and contacts, to apps that offer loans to individuals starting May 31.
This measure is a response to the tactics used by some lenders that harass users.
“Apps that offer personal loans, or whose primary purpose is to facilitate access to personal loans (i.e. lead generators or facilitators), are prohibited from accessing sensitive data such as photos and contacts,” Google explains.
A trend is emerging that has raised concerns, as some people who have acquired credit through mobile apps have been harassed by debt collectors. These collection agents have allegedly accessed the personal contacts of borrowers, informing friends and family of outstanding debts.
In more extreme cases, lenders have used doctored images to further intimidate and distress debtors. Tragically, some of these people have succumbed to the pressure and have taken their own lives.
Google initially responded by blocking hundreds and then thousands of personal loan apps on the Play Store, after being alerted by security forces and central banks. The company also introduced rules to ban unlicensed loan apps from the Android app store.
There’s a good reason Google restricts loan apps from accessing your data
